The Pharmacy First scheme is an NHS initiative designed to offer professional healthcare advice and, treatment for seven common illnesses through your local pharmacy.

The NHS Pharmacy First Service means you are able to be treated at your local Pickfords Pharmacy without the need to visit your GP. As a result, you’ll be able to access treatments quicker.

What does the Pharmacy First service involve?

The Pharmacy First service involves our pharmacy teams, providing clinically appropriate advice and treatment for seven common health conditions:

• Earache in children aged 1-17 years old.

• Impetigo in patients aged 1 years and over.

• Infected insect bites in patients 1 years and over.

• Shingles in patients aged 18 years and over.

• Sinusitis in patients aged 12 years and over.

• Sore throat in patients aged 5 years and over.

• Uncomplicated urinary tract infections in women 16-64 years old.

How Pharmacy First works

Pharmacy First means that you may not need to book and wait for an appointment with your GP. Instead, you can simply visit your local Pickfords Pharmacy to take advantage of this service to access the advice and treatment you need for a variety of conditions.

As part of the service, you may be able to access suitable medication to help treat your condition. This may be a prescription strength treatment, or an over-the-counter remedy.

How do I use the Pharmacy First service?

To take advantage of the Pharmacy First service, you can book online or walk in to your nearest Pickfords Pharmacy. There’s no need to speak to your GP beforehand.

In some cases, you may be directed to use the Pharmacy First service if you contact NHS 111 by telephone or online, or if you have contacted 999. You will be encouraged to use Pharmacy First if the NHS adviser feels that this is the best route of care for you.

Your GP may also direct you to the Pharmacy First service if they think this is the best place for you to access the advice and treatment you need for your health concern.

Who will I speak to?

When you use this service, you will speak to one of our pharmacists or pharmacy teams in branch.

The pharmacists at our pharmacies are highly qualified and experienced health professionals who are readily equipped with the knowledge and appropriate medical equipment to assess your symptoms to provide accurate, trustworthy advice and medicines for the treatment of minor illnesses.

What’s more, any information you provide to our pharmacists is treated with the utmost confidence, meaning you can trust that your details are kept confidential at all times. Our pharmacists carry out every Pharmacy First consultation with the highest level of privacy. We have private consultation rooms available at all of our pharmacies.