Pharmacies can offer prescription medicines for some health conditions, which means you don’t always need to see a doctor first
Pharmacists can help you with a number of health conditions(Image: PA)
If you struggle to get an appointment with your GP, it may be worth knowing that you can get some prescription medicines without seeing a doctor. A pharmacist may be able to help you.
Pharmacists can offer advice on a range of illnesses, such as coughs, colds, sore throats, ear infections and aches and pains. They can also give advice about medicines.
This includes how to use your medicine, worries about side effects or any other questions you have. Pharmacists can suggest treatments that do not need a prescription for a range of conditions. This comes as ChronicleLive listed 12 Covid symptoms as a new variant spreads across the UK.
And most pharmacies can offer prescription medicine for some conditions, without you needing to see a GP or make an appointment. This is called Pharmacy First. More details are outlined below.
The health conditions pharmacists can give prescription medicine for
Conditions they can offer prescription medicine for are:
impetigo (aged 1 year and over)infected insect bites (aged 1 year and over)earache (aged 1 to 17 years)sore throat (aged 5 years and over)sinusitis (aged 12 years and over)urinary tract infections (UTIs) (women aged 16 to 64 years)shingles (aged 18 years and over)
The NHS says: “If you are not within these age ranges, a pharmacist can still offer advice and support decisions about self care treatment with over the counter medicines, but you may need to see a GP for treatment. If you go to a pharmacy with one of these conditions, the pharmacist will offer you advice, treatment or refer you to a GP or other health professional if needed.
“They will also update your GP health record, but your information will not be shared with anyone else. Most pharmacies can provide prescription medicine for these conditions but contact them before visiting to check.”
Some pharmacies also offer a free blood pressure check. Other services that may be available include:
advice after contacting NHS 111 or a GPchlamydia screening and treatmentadvice and help on how to stop smokingcholesterol and blood sugar testingthe substance misuse service, including needle and syringe exchange schemesadvice and help on how to manage your weight
For any of these, contact your local pharmacist to find out what services they offer. You can find a pharmacy near you through the website here. You can also find more information on the NHS website here.