Visit your local pharmacy first for seven minor conditions
From this week, people across Sutton can pop down to their local pharmacy for help with seven minor conditions which would previously have required a GP appointment.
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. 38 pharmacies across Sutton have signed up to support people in certain age groups seeking help for a variety of conditions.
These conditions are:
| Condition | Age |
|---|---|
| Sinusitis | for children and adults aged 12 years and over |
| Sore throat | for children and adults aged 5 years and over |
| Earache (Acute otitis media) | for children aged 1 to 17 years |
| Infected insect bite | 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 |
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 the pharmacist. Under the new service pharmacists can provide advice and, if clinically necessary, will offer an NHS medicine to treat it (NHS prescription charge apply if you normally pay for medicines supplied on prescription). Should the pharmacy team be unable to help, you will be directed to your GP surgery or A&E as appropriate.
By thinking ‘Pharmacy First’, you may find it easier and quicker to get the help you need and skip the telephone queue with your GP surgery.
Find out more about pharmacies by going to NHS website: https://www.nhs.uk/nhs-services/pharmacies/
