Think Pharmacy First
Advice and treatment
Pharmacists can provide advice and treatment for a wide range of health conditions. As part of the Pharmacy First programme they can assess and treat patients without the need for a GP appointment or prescription for seven common conditions:
- earache (aged 1 to 17 years)
- impetigo (aged 1 year and over)
- infected insect bites (aged 1 year and over)
- shingles (aged 18 years and over)
- sinusitis (aged 12 years and over)
- sore throat (aged 5 years and over)
- urinary tract infections or UTIs (women aged 16 to 64 years)
The new Pharmacy First Service will enable community pharmacists to complete episodes of care for patients without the need for the patient to visit their general practice. This, alongside expansions to the pharmacy blood pressure checking and contraception services, will save up to 10 million general practice team appointments a year and help patients access quicker and more convenient care, including the supply of appropriate medicines for minor illness.
Click here https://www.patienttriage.co.uk/leander-family-practice to fill in an assessment and self refer online if you have one of these conditions or you can walk into your local pharmacy.
The pharmacist will offer you advice, treatment or refer you to a GP or another healthcare professional if needed.
Pharmacies will update your GP health record.
If you are not within these age ranges, a pharmacist can still offer advice, but you may need to see a GP for treatment.
Please note on weekends online self-referral may take longer as the practice is closed and will not look at your assessment till we are open, for quicker response please walk into your local pharmacy.
Use this link to find the nearest pharmacy to you: https://www.nhs.uk/service-search/pharmacy/find-a-pharmacy
Please use this link if you are in need of an emergency prescption of medication that you have run out of: https://111.nhs.uk/emergency-prescription.
This can only be used for medicine you are prescribed regulary, through a repeat prescription. You will be charged your usual prescription fee. If you do not usually pay, it will be free.
If you need medicine and also have any symptoms, call 111 and speak to an adviser instead.
You cannot use this service to get:
- antibiotics for a new or recent problem
- controlled drugs that require identification to collect
NHS App
If you have a smartphone then you can also use the NHS App to view and easily order your repeat prescriptions to collect from the pharmacy without the need of a paper prescription from your GP surgery. Please click here for more information: https://www.nhs.uk/nhs-app/
The Pharmacy First Service builds on the previous Community Pharmacist Consultation Service (CPCS) by enabling community pharmacies to manage patients for seven common conditions, following specific clinical pathways. The overall service consists of three core elements:
- Pharmacy First (clinical pathways) – new element
- Pharmacy First (urgent repeat medicine supply) – previously commissioned as the CPCS.
- Pharmacy First (NHS referrals for minor illness) – previously commissioned as the CPCS.
You may be able to get the contraceptive pill from a pharmacy if you need to:
- start the contraceptive pill for the first time
- take the contraceptive pill again after a break from using it
If you already have a prescription for the contraceptive pill, you can use the prescription as usual. Or you can get the pill from a pharmacy without a prescription if you prefer.
Find a pharmacy that offers the contraceptive pill without a prescription
Get a free blood pressure check
You can get a free blood pressure checked at a pharmacy without seeing a GP, if you:
- are aged 40 or over
- live in England You cannot get a free blood pressure check if you:
- already have high blood pressure
- have had your blood pressure checked by a healthcare professional in the past 6 months Some pharmacies offer a free blood pressure check.
Find a pharmacy that offers free blood pressure checks - NHS