As experts in medicines and managing minor illnesses, pharmacists have been backed by Government and the NHS to provide a new NHS ‘Pharmacy First’ service.
Pharmacies across the country have signed up to support people in certain age groups seeking help for sore throats, earache in children, sinusitis, infected insect bites, impetigo, shingles, and urinary tract infections in women.
If you have symptoms that suggest you may have one of these conditions, you can now walk into a pharmacy and be offered a consultation with a pharmacist.
Under the new service pharmacists can provide advice and, if clinically necessary, will offer an NHS medicine to treat it. Should the pharmacy team be unable to help, you will be directed to another service, such as your GP surgery or A&E.
By thinking ‘Pharmacy First’, people will find it easier and quicker to get the help they need and bypass the “8am rush” to book an appointment with their GP.
Think ‘Pharmacy First’
- Sinusitis (for children and adults aged 12 years and over)
- Sore throat (for children and adults aged 5 years and over)
- Earache (for children aged 1 to 17 years)
- Infected insect bites (for children and adults aged 1 year and over)
- Impetigo (for children and adults aged 1 year and over)
- Shingles (for adults aged 18 years and over)
- Uncomplicated urinary tract infections (for women aged 16 to 64 years)
It is hoped that the service will be expanded to include more conditions in the future.