{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,3]],"date-time":"2026-08-03T07:44:38Z","timestamp":1785743078838,"version":"3.56.0"},"reference-count":55,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"5","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,3]],"date-time":"2026-08-03T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1785715200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Pharmacy"],"abstract":"<jats:p>The NHS-funded Common Ailments Service (CAS) in Wales enables community pharmacists to manage 28 common ailments by providing advice and\/or medication free of charge without the need for patients to book an appointment. The aim of this study was to evaluate the patient experience of the CAS using patient reported experience measures (PREMs) and determine the feasibility of digital data capture collected directly from patients through a pharmacist-led manual recruitment model. The study used prospective, primary data collected through an online survey accessible via a Quick Response code and census recruitment. A total of 3660 surveys were included in the analysis, completed between 27 October 2025 and 31 March 2026. Overall experience was rated as excellent by 95.1% of participants. A theory-based framework analysis of 1499 free-text comments across the six domains of healthcare quality confirmed the high standard of care provision, primarily influenced by consultation quality, convenience, accessibility, and short waiting times. It also identified targeted areas for improvement, such as the need for seamless referrals from other areas of primary care and consistent availability of the service across all pharmacies. While digital PREMs captured high-quality insights, the pharmacist-led recruitment model reached a \u201cfeasibility ceiling\u201d, with an overall response rate of 3.2%.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/pharmacy14050112","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,3]],"date-time":"2026-08-03T06:17:40Z","timestamp":1785737860000},"page":"112","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["\u201cIt\u2019s Worth Its Weight in Gold\u201d: Patient Reported Experience Measures of a National NHS-Funded Community Pharmacy-Based Common Ailments Service"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"14","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6313-1409","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Efi","family":"Mantzourani","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Cardiff School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff CF10 3NB, UK"},{"name":"Digital Health and Care Wales, National Health Service Wales, Cardiff CF11 9AD, UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"David","family":"McRae","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Primary Care Services, Welsh Government, Cardiff CF10 3NQ, UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Egerton","family":"Hunter","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Cardiff School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff CF10 3NB, UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Grace","family":"Naylor","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Cardiff School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff CF10 3NB, UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Emma","family":"Hinks","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Primary Care Services, Welsh Government, Cardiff CF10 3NQ, UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9486-283X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Andrew","family":"Evans","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Primary Care Services, Welsh Government, Cardiff CF10 3NQ, UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Rebecca","family":"Cannings-John","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Centre for Trials Research, Cardiff University, Cardiff CF14 4YS, UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,3]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","unstructured":"International Federation of Pharmacists (FIP) (2026, June 17). Pharmacist-Led Common Ailments Schemes: A Global Intelligence Report. Available online: https:\/\/selfcare.fip.org\/publications\/pharmacist-led-common-ailments-schemes-a-global-intelligence-report-2023\/."},{"key":"ref_2","unstructured":"Welsh Government (2026, June 17). Securing Health and Well-Being for Future Generations, Available online: https:\/\/www.gov.wales\/sites\/default\/files\/publications\/2019-04\/securing-health-and-well-being-for-future-generations.pdf."},{"key":"ref_3","unstructured":"Welsh Government (2026, June 17). Community Pharmacy Services: April 2024 to March 2025, Available online: https:\/\/www.gov.wales\/community-pharmacy-services-april-2024-march-2025-html."},{"key":"ref_4","unstructured":"Welsh Government Social Research (2026, June 17). 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