Limitations in the government’s plan for recovering access to primary care are identified by Dr Baird’s editorial [1,2]. Overworked and burnt-out GPs are at best lukewarm about the prospect of pharmacy led consultation schemes diverting 20% of GP consultation work [7,8,9], perhaps recognising the complex relationships of payment, capacity and demand. Community pharmacists are highly trained and respected professionals who may have the capabilities to undertake wider clinical roles but are already fully engaged and not available in excess