When NHS England piloted the inclusion of depression within the NHS New Medicine Service, it commissioned NHS Arden & GEM to deliver an independent evaluation of the programme.
By combining service activity data, patient feedback and stakeholder insight, the evaluation provided the evidence needed to assess feasibility, safety and acceptability, helping to inform NHS England's decision to expand the national service to include medicines prescribed for depression.
The challenge
Depression affects millions of people across England, yet adherence to newly prescribed antidepressant medication can be challenging, particularly during the first few weeks of treatment when side effects may occur before benefits are felt. NHS England wanted to explore whether community pharmacies could provide additional support to patients starting antidepressants through an expanded version of the NHS New Medicine Service (NMS).
As the first mental health condition to be considered for inclusion within the NMS, the pilot represented an important opportunity to test whether community pharmacists could safely and effectively provide structured medicines support for people with depression. NHS England needed robust, independent evidence to understand whether the service was acceptable to patients, feasible for community pharmacy teams to deliver and capable of supporting future national policy decisions.
To support this, NHS England commissioned NHS Arden & GEM’s Health and Care Transformation team to design and deliver a formative evaluation of the pilot.
Our approach
Arden & GEM's specialist evaluation team designed a mixed-methods evaluation underpinned by a logic model that mapped the pilot's intended outcomes and theory of change. This provided a clear framework for assessing what was working well, identifying implementation challenges and informing future rollout decisions.
Working closely with NHS England, while maintaining the independence of the evaluation, the team combined quantitative and qualitative approaches to build a comprehensive picture of pilot delivery. Activities included:
- Designing patient surveys and interview schedules
- Managing participant recruitment and engagement
- Conducting in-depth interviews with patients, community pharmacists, GPs and wider stakeholders
- Analysing service activity data collected throughout the pilot
- Identifying implementation, training and safety considerations
- Producing evidence-based recommendations to inform national decision-making.
The evaluation captured insights from 12 patient interviews, 20 community pharmacist interviews, four GP interviews and five additional stakeholder interviews, alongside patient survey responses and service activity data.
A particular strength of the project was Arden & GEM's ability to combine rigorous evaluation methods with practical stakeholder engagement. The team worked across national, regional and local partners to collect evidence from multiple perspectives while ensuring information governance and safeguarding requirements were met throughout.
The outcomes
The evaluation found strong evidence that the service was highly acceptable to patients. Participants consistently described the value of having a trusted healthcare professional "checking in" with them during the early stages of antidepressant treatment. Many highlighted the accessibility of community pharmacies and the reassurance provided by pharmacists they already knew.
There was also evidence that pharmacist support could help patients continue with treatment when experiencing early concerns about side effects or effectiveness, helping to improve confidence in taking their medication as prescribed.
Community pharmacists generally viewed the pilot positively and reported increased confidence following the training programme. While some initially expected consultations to be longer or more challenging than standard NMS interactions, these concerns were often reduced through experience of delivering the service. Importantly, the evaluation found no evidence of harm to either patients or community pharmacists.
Alongside identifying the benefits of the service, the evaluation highlighted practical considerations for wider rollout.
These included training requirements, workforce capacity challenges, communication between healthcare professionals and the importance of clear information for patients. These findings enabled NHS England to refine its approach and strengthen implementation plans.
Most significantly, the evaluation formed part of the evidence base that informed NHS England's decision to include selected medicines prescribed for depression within the nationally commissioned NMS from October 2025.
"This evaluation provided valuable insight into the feasibility, acceptability and safe delivery of antidepressant support through community pharmacy. The findings helped us understand the benefits for patients, identify considerations for wider implementation and contribute to the evidence supporting the inclusion of medicines prescribed for depression within the NHS New Medicine Service."
Hammaad Patel, National Pharmacy Integration Lead, NHS England
The methods and learning from this evaluation were published in the Pharmacy Management Healthcare Journal, Summer 2026, Issue 17.
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