Conclusion
The last 12 months have been another extremely busy year for community pharmacy with Covid-19 continuing to play a dominant role and pharmacies responding by providing vaccination and testing services and playing a crucial role in wider NHS services, advice and medicines supply.
Recognition of the expanding clinical role of community pharmacists in England came through the inclusion of additional conditions in the New Medicine Service and increasing access to contraception through the OTC desogestrel switches and pilots for the repeat supply of contraception. Future NHS nicotine replacement therapy to help people quit smoking is likely to include the use of e-cigarettes – a development to watch out for in 2022.