With Goodmeasure Pharmacy, Rotherham
Did you know that there are seven minor health conditions that can be treated immediately by local pharmacies without seeing a GP?
Last January, the NHS launched the Pharmacy First service which means community pharmacies across the country can now diagnose and treat ailments like sore throats, water infections and shingles.
The new initiative hopes to free up millions of GP appointments every year, meaning GPs have more time and space to see patients with more complex conditions. In South Yorkshire, there have been over 90,000 Pharmacy First consultations since last January.
By thinking ‘pharmacy first’, you’ll find it easier, quicker and more convenient to get the medical help you need and bypass the 8am rush to book an appointment with your GP.
What conditions can be treated by Pharmacy First?
Pharmacies that have signed up to the scheme can treat seven minor ailments. These include:
- Ear infections (under 18s)
- Infected insect bites (over 1s)
- Impetigo (over 1s)
- Shingles (over 18s)
- Sinusitis (over 12s)
- Sore throat (over 5s)
- Uncomplicated urinary tract infections (women aged 16-64)
Since launching, pharmacies have mainly seen people for sore throats and UTIs, but the service is open to anyone who has symptoms of one of the above conditions. It is also hoped that the service will be expanded to include more conditions in the future.
What happens with Pharmacy First?
If you have symptoms that suggest you may have one of these conditions, you can walk into a pharmacy and have a consultation with the pharmacist. Patients can also be referred via their GP or 111.
Depending on the pharmacy, you can either have an in-person or online consultation.
If done in-person, this will be conducted in private in the pharmacy’s consultation room. The pharmacist may perform an examination or request access to your medical records.
If you choose to have an online consultation, you’ll usually answer a short questionnaire about your symptoms and general health before the video call. You’ll be asked to link this to your NHS app, if you have it, so that your GP health record can be updated.
Pharmacists will then recommend the best course of action. This might be medical advice about how to self-manage symptoms. But if medication or treatment is needed, this can be prescribed and dispensed immediately. This is usually antibiotics or antifungal medicines, depending on the condition you are diagnosed with. However, alternative treatments may be advised to reduce antibiotic resistance.
If you’re exempt from prescription charges, then your medicines will be free, otherwise normal prescription charges will apply.
Should the pharmacist be unable to help, or you have any red flag symptoms, you will be referred to your GP surgery or A&E.
All Pharmacy First consultations and any prescribed medications will be added to your NHS health record which you and your GP can view.
Why should you think ‘pharmacy first’?
Pharmacy First is part of a wider expansion of healthcare services that will give people more choice about their healthcare. But it’s also to empower pharmacists to use more of their skills.
Medicines are a pharmacist’s strong point. We’ve had medical training for a minimum of five years, with a compulsory pharmacy degree followed by post-graduate training in primary care.
I graduated from Aston University in the 1980s and did my post-graduate training at hospitals in Birmingham. Before starting my own practice in 2012, I spent over 20 years working in hospitals, retail pharmacy and even prisons.
Members of the public should feel assured that the healthcare advice they receive from pharmacists and their teams will be second-to-none.
If you go to a GP surgery for a minor ailment, you’ll likely see a physician associate. These roles must be supported by a doctor to diagnose and cannot prescribe medicines as they aren’t regulated.
Convenience is also a major draw to the Pharmacy First service. Four in five people can reach a pharmacy within a 20 -minute walk.
Many pharmacies offer extended opening hours in the evenings and at weekends, so you’re more likely to get a consultation appointment to suit your other commitments. And with the offer of online consultations, like we do at Goodmeasure, you don’t even need to leave the house if you’re too unwell.
Disclaimer: Good Measure is classed as a distance selling pharmacy and as such we can only over remote consultations. Find out more about Pharmacy First on our website.
