Benfleet PCN Saves 500 GP Appointments per Month with SystmOne-Enabled Community Pharmacy Consultations
Benfleet PCN is transforming access to care by enabling direct booking into community pharmacies through SystmOne.
Since implementing SystmOne in two local pharmacies, Cross Chemist and Benfleet Pharmacy, the PCN is saving around 500 GP appointments every month. Patients can now be referred directly to a community pharmacist for minor ailments, blood pressure checks, or contraceptive services, while clinical pharmacists gain full access to patient records to make safer, more informed decisions.
The NHS Community Pharmacy Consultation Service (CPCS) was launched nationally in 2019 to reduce GP workload by directing patients with minor ailments to pharmacies. However, in Benfleet – as elsewhere – referrals were slow to take off. The process required reception staff to complete a template, email it to the pharmacy, and wait for confirmation. The system was time-consuming, inconvenient, and offered no way to book patients into pharmacy appointment slots. As a result, few patients were referred, GP pressure remained high, and pharmacies struggled to deliver against the service specification.
To overcome these challenges, Benfleet PCN partnered with Cross Chemist and Benfleet Pharmacy to pilot SystmOne in community pharmacy. This enabled:
- Direct appointment booking: GP reception teams can book patients straight into pharmacy slots, ensuring timely access and avoiding bottlenecks.
- Shared visibility of rotas: Pharmacies publish their availability in real time, helping manage patient flow and avoid overbooking.
- Integrated records and notes: Pharmacists record consultations directly into the patient record, improving transparency and reducing admin duplication.
- Two-way communication: The SystmOne tasking function allows pharmacists to liaise directly with GPs when escalation is required.
- Access to full patient history: Pharmacists can safely prescribe and manage care with the same information available to GPs, including blood results, discharge summaries, and diagnostic reports.
Real-world impact
The new way of working has transformed both patient experience and clinical outcomes. Patients now receive timed appointments, reducing stress and wasted visits. Pharmacies can plan their workload effectively, and GPs have confidence that their patients are receiving safe, integrated care.
Examples include:
- An 86-year-old with a persistent cough who was safely prescribed antibiotics after the pharmacist accessed sputum culture results.
- A 68-year-old cancer patient who was spared unnecessary antibiotics thanks to full visibility of oncology referral notes.
- A 64-year-old with gout who received the correct treatment immediately, avoiding a return GP appointment.
Feedback from the frontline
Dr Riswan Khan, clinical director of Benfleet PCN stated,
“Prior to the use of Systm One Benfleet PCN practices reception staff had found the referral process into the CPCS cumbersome, time consuming and a significant barrier to referral. The introduction of Systm One as a single platform across both GP surgeries and the pharmacies allowed the referral process to be streamlined making it more efficient and removing a significant barrier to referral. It has also facilitated better communication between pharmacies and GP surgeries following referrals. It has therefore been a resounding success.”
Looking ahead
The pilot has been running for 20 months, with sustained impact. The next step is to expand SystmOne use to more community pharmacies across Essex, enabling shared appointment booking across the network, late-night pharmacy cover, and wider access to prescribing pharmacists.
While pharmacies still face a double-entry admin burden due to national payment systems, the benefits of interoperability far outweigh this challenge.