Minor Illness

Think Pharmacy First

Advice and treatment

Pharmacists can give you advice on a range of conditions and suggest medicines that can help.

They may also be able to offer treatment and some prescription medicine for some conditions, without you needing to see a GP (this is called Pharmacy First). Conditions they can treat as part of Pharmacy First are:

· earache (aged 1 to 17 years)

· impetigo (aged 1 year and over)- a contagious skin infection

· infected insect bites (aged 1 year and over)

· shingles (aged 18 years and over)- infection that causes a painful rash

· sinusitis (aged 12 years and over)- infection of the sinuses (behind the forehead, cheeks and nose)

· sore throat (aged 5 years and over)

· urinary tract infections or UTIs (women aged 16 to 64 years)

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.

Find a Pharmacy: https://www.nhs.uk/service-search/pharmacy/find-a-pharmacy

Emergency Prescriptions

If the practice is closed and you’ve completely run out of your usual repeat medication you can use this service to request a limited emergency supply.

Emergency prescriptions – NHS 111