NHS Services
Local Services
As well as the core and national services which pharmacy teams provide to their surrounding communities, a range of local services are in place to cater for specific local needs. These are commissioned and paid for by the 14 territorial Health Boards or occasionally by specific Health and Social Care Partnerships (HSCPs), of which there are 31. Some of our most successful national services like Pharmacy First started out as local innovations, with pilots and tests of change being easier to manage in compact geographies.
- Commissioned by
- 14 Health Boards
- Or by
- 31 HSCPs
- Negotiated by
- Your CP(HB)
Find your local service details
Each Health Board publishes details of the local services they have in place on the NHS Community Pharmacy website.
Visit the NHS CP website (opens in a new tab)www.communitypharmacy.scot.nhs.uk
How local services are agreed
Who negotiates them, and where the current details are published
Negotiation
Your local pharmacy contractors' committee
The local pharmacy contractors' committee (CP(HB)) is the body that negotiates with the Health Board or HSCP on behalf of pharmacy owners in the area on the terms, conditions and payments for each local service or pilot.
Each Health Board publishes details of the local services they have in place on the NHS Community Pharmacy website, www.communitypharmacy.scot.nhs.uk (opens in a new tab).
Where to ask
CPS does not hold local service details
As these are continually changing, CPS does not hold a copy of local service details on our website, and any questions should be directed to the local NHS Community Pharmacy lead in the first instance.
Contact details for your local lead can be found on the NHS Community Pharmacy website at www.communitypharmacy.scot.nhs.uk (opens in a new tab).
NHS Community Pharmacy Scotland
Local service details are published by your Health Board
Every Health Board keeps its own list of local services, along with the contact details for its NHS Community Pharmacy lead. Because these change continually, the NHS Community Pharmacy website is always the most up to date source.
www.communitypharmacy.scot.nhs.uk
Commonly commissioned services
Select a service to read more. This is not an exhaustive list
This service is provided as part of the holistic support that the NHS and social services offer for people with substance use issues, which may include the misuse of opioids, prescription medications, alcohol and more.
The detail of which medications are used in treatment and what support is delivered varies by Health Board. The core of these services are the dispensing and/or supervision of substitution therapies, with recent developments in some areas including a move to providing a "package of care", with structured interventions aimed at improving overall health outcomes delivered by pharmacy staff.
Interested in providing this service? Contractors should speak with their Health Board Pharmacy colleagues in the first instance.
Services that enable the provision of injecting equipment aim to protect individual and public health by reducing the incidence of blood-borne infection and drug-related deaths amongst service users.
This is achieved by ensuring access to sterile injecting equipment and paraphernalia.
Some NHS Health Boards contract with community pharmacies that supply medicines to care homes to deliver advice on the handling of medicines and on medication policies.
Sometimes this will include the training of care home staff. The service will look different in each area.
Interested in providing this service? Contractors wishing to provide this advice to care homes that they service should speak with their Health Board Pharmacy colleagues in the first instance.
Health Boards may arrange to provide pharmacy contractors with reimbursement for the materials used in the course of providing compliance support aids to patients.
This applies to patients who have been assessed as requiring this type of support in their area.
NHS Boards are required by the Scottish Government to provide a service whereby patients are able to return unwanted medicines to their community pharmacy.
Once collected, the Health Board is responsible for ensuring its collection and disposal by incineration.
Health Boards may negotiate a rota and associated payments to ensure pharmaceutical service provision on key dates across the year.
For example, Christmas Day and New Year's Day.
Since 2016, the Scottish Government has run a central procurement system for the seasonal influenza vaccination programme.
Delivery is spread across central vaccination sites and commissioned partners which can include community pharmacies.
Unplanned Pharmacy Closures
Notifying your NHS Board when a pharmacy closes unexpectedly
The process
Your NHS Board needs to be notified
If a community pharmacy has an unplanned pharmacy closure, the NHS Board needs to be notified.
The full process and contact details for each Health Board can be found on the NHS Community Pharmacy website, www.communitypharmacy.scot.nhs.uk (opens in a new tab).
Summary below
Contact details by Health Board
We have also collated a summary of contact details below, though please be aware that whilst this was correct as of September 2026, the detail is subject to change.
Always check the NHS Community Pharmacy website for the full process in your area before relying on the summary below.
Health Board closure contacts
Select a Health Board to see who to notify
Anne Shaw, Primary Care Manager01563 578651 / 07805 248 789
Carolyn Dickson, Assistant Manager01563 578651 / 07557 114 209
Emailcommunitypharmacy.team@borders.nhs.uk
Telephone01896 825 540
If the pharmacy is unexpectedly closed for more than 30 minutes you inform NHS Borders.
Primary Care Development Teamdumf-uhb.PCD@nhs.net / 01387 244 284
Pharmacy Department01387 241 557
Emailfife-uhb.primarycareadmin@nhs.net
Telephone01592 226 930
A closure exceeding 30 minutes requires notification.
Carol Droubaycarol.droubay@nhs.scot
Support emailFV-UHB.communitypharmacysupport@nhs.scot
Emergency01786 457231
Emailgram.pcctpharmacy@nhs.scot
Telephone01224 556 730
Community Pharmacy Development0141 201 6046
Telephone01463 706830
Emailpharmacycareservices@lanarkshire.scot.nhs.uk
Closures can be authorised automatically where a Business Continuity Plan (BCP) is in place and all of the following apply:
- Closure of 4 hours or less
- Closure for no more than 2 days in a row
- There is realistic access to services from other pharmacies
- Closure does not compromise limited access to late night service provision where the OOH service and public have an expectation of service
- The pharmacy has applied their BCP indicating how patients reliant on the pharmacy will be cared for
- Suitable signs will be put in the pharmacy to let patients know when the pharmacy will reopen
Email pcs@lanarkshire.scot.nhs.uk with the subject line "SHORT TERM AND TEMPORARY RESTRICTION IN HOURS OF A COMMUNITY PHARMACY", including the pharmacy details, closure times and an explanation.
Closure alert processNHS Lothian closure alert process (opens in a new tab)
ContactTo be confirmed. Please check the NHS Community Pharmacy website (opens in a new tab) for NHS Orkney.
Mary McFarlane, Principal Pharmacist01595 743 370
The following document supports delivering of services during winter 2022/23 through anticipated short staffing and/or increased patient demand. Closures may be planned or unplanned.
DocumentTayside Winter Closure Procedures (opens in a new tab)
Stephen Smithstephen.smith@nhs.scot