Abstract/Summary

Introduction: Mental health (MH) conditions place a significant disease burden on the UK. Pharmacists are healthcare professionals and may contribute to addressing this burden; however, the evidence regarding their specific role in MH care in the UK is sparse. Objective The objective of this review was to assess the evidence regarding pharmacists’ roles in managing common MH conditions within UK primary and secondary care settings. Methods: A scoping review was conducted following the Arksey and O’Malley framework and PRISMA-ScR guidelines. PubMed, Scopus, PsycINFO, Web of Science, and the Web of Science (Core collection) databases for English-language studies published between 2004 and 2024. Eligible studies were UK-based and reported pharmacists’ involvement in mental health care. Data were charted and synthesised into descriptive themes. Key findings: Fourteen studies highlighted pharmacists’ multifaceted roles in mental health care across primary and secondary care settings. Key domains included prescribing and deprescribing, medicines management, patient education, team collaboration, and specialised services such as assessments, referrals, and social prescribing. Pharmacist involvement improved medication optimisation, patient understanding, and interdisciplinary communication, though gaps in mental health training and role standardisation were noted. Conclusion: Pharmacists play diverse roles in supporting MH services through medicines optimisation, prescribing support, and multidisciplinary collaboration, and have positive impacts on adherence and medicines management, but limited evidence on effectiveness. Strengthening pharmacist integration, workforce training, and evaluation of scalable interventions is essential to enhance their contribution to MH care in the UK.