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NHS Somerset is aiming to grow its referral rate through GP Community Pharmacist Consultation Service (GP CPCS) to between 4,000 to 6,000 patients a month. Since June 2021 GPs in Somerset have successfully referred around 1,000 patients a month through the Somerset GP Community Pharmacist Consultation Service (GP CPCS) Currently, 59 of NHS Somerset's 64 GP practices and all of Somerset's 102 community pharmacists are using the Somerset GP CPCS. NHS Somerset found that providing the right training for GPs and for reception staff and practice managers was key to a smooth rollout and uptake of the service. As was making sure the technology worked when making referrals from general practice to community pharmacists. NHS Somerset is using software called Patient Access Connect, which seamlessly integrates with the EMIS Web GP system used in Somerset, to give practices a quick and easy way to capture the patient information needed to deliver a referral.

NHS England is rolling out a range of tech and data solutions, including an artificial intelligence (AI) system, across the health service to tackle winter pressures. The AI system will be used to identify patients at risk of hospital admission so community NHS teams can get to them first and reduce pressures on A&E departments. On a trial basis, four GP practices in Somerset have started using the innovative technology which can highlight registered patients with complex health needs. Health coaches, nurses, or GPs will then reach out to the people most at risk, and provide them with a range of preventive care such as monitoring, food parcels, cleaning, shopping, as well as escalating care to specialist doctors.

Pharmacy hub and spoke providers gathered at Westminster on Tuesday (November 19) to highlight to MPs the urgent need to implement Model One of Hub and Spoke legislation. This proposed model, aimed at making hub and spoke dispensing accessible to all pharmacies, was initially scheduled for rollout in January 2025, but has been delayed. Representatives from Centred Solutions, HubRx, and PillTime engaged with over 30 MPs at the event, which was organised with the support of former pharmacist and Labour MP Sadik Al-Hassan. They highlighted the significant benefits of hub and spoke for community pharmacies and stressed the need to extend its use across different legal entities. Sadik Al-Hassan, MP for North Somerset and officer for the Pharmacy APPG, expressed his support, saying, "Community pharmacies are a vital lifeline for our high streets and independents have always been at a disadvantage versus larger chains who can employ economies of scale. "Model One of the proposed legislation would allow the benefits of big pharmacies for smaller ones to help them focus on the service provision our NHS needs during this difficult financial time."