Patients will be able to obtain prescription medicines and oral contraception directly from pharmacies for seven common conditions under plans announced by the Government.
Treatments for illnesses including earache, sore throat and urinary tract infections will be available without seeing a doctor.
Self-referral for key services including physiotherapy, hearing tests and podiatry is set to be rolled out across London over the next two years, the NHS said on Tuesday.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak hopes the measures will help end the “all-too stressful wait” for appointments by freeing up 15 million slots at doctors’ surgeries over the next two years.
Pharmacists themselves would be able to write the prescriptions under the reform that ministers hope will be introduced this winter after a consultation with the industry.
Backed by £645 million of spending, the number of people able to access blood pressure checks in pharmacies would be more than doubled to 2.5 million a year under the plans.
Self-referrals will also be increased for access to services such as physiotherapy, hearing tests and podiatry without the requirement to see a GP first.
Surgeries in London have already been testing the approach, by providing patients with specialist advice without the need for a referral.
Evergreen Primary Care Centre, in Enfield, has reduced the number of patients with a disorder of the urinary system needing to be referred for specialist appointments by a quarter.
Dr Chris Streather, Regional Medical Director for the NHS in London, said: “The care and support provided by local pharmacists and GPs is highly valued by patients and with unprecedented demand for appointments it’s essential we expand and transform the way we provide care for our local communities and make these services fit for the future.
“Today’s plan will do just that, by helping Londoners see the most appropriate healthcare professional for their needs, and in many cases, without the need for a referral.
“This will in turn help us to free up thousands of GP appointments for those who need them most, as well as supporting staff so that they can do less admin and spend more time with patients.”
Industry groups have warned that more pharmacies will close unless ministers provide more funding to the “struggling” sector.
It is hoped that almost half-a-million women would no longer need to speak to a nurse or GP to get oral contraception.
The other medications that GPs would be able to hand out would treat conditions including sinusitis, infected insect bite, impetigo and shingles.
Thorrun Govind, the chairwoman of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society in England, said the plans are a “real game-changer” for patients.
But shadow health secretary Wes Streeting said: “Expecting the Conservatives to fix this is like expecting an arsonist to put out the fire they started.
“Rishi Sunak is completely out of touch with the problems facing patients and the NHS. He has no plan to address the shortage of GPs, or to reverse the cut in the number of doctors trained every year. The Conservatives’ announcement is merely tinkering at edges, in contrast to the fundamental reform the NHS needs and Labour is offering.
“Labour will abolish the non-dom tax status to train an extra 7,500 doctors and 10,000 nurses every year, so patients are seen on time again.”
The King’s Fund health think tank warned some pharmacies will not be able to offer the services because they may not have access to diagnostic tools, or sufficient staff and consultation rooms.
Senior fellow Beccy Baird said that “not all pharmacies will be able to offer these services and it will be really frustrating for patients to be bumped from pillar to post, only to end up back at the GP”.
“Whilst any improvements to make it easier for people to access their local practices are welcome, to make the kinds of system changes needed to reform general practice, it is essential that, over the long-term, primary care is as much of a priority as reducing the hospital backlog,” she added.
