About Pharmacy First
Pharmacy First is a new initiative that allows pharmacists to diagnose and treat seven common conditions for patients that meet the criteria for each condition, our pharmacists have undergone additional training to be able to do these consultations.
This means that instead of waiting for a GP appointment, patients can access professional consultations and treatment instantly when appropriate.
The seven conditions we can treat are Impetigo, Urinary Tract Infection, Acute Sore Throat, Sinusitis, Infected insect bites and stings, shingles and acute Otitis Media.
All of these except for the Acute Otitis Media (ear infection) we can diagnose and treat remotely through an online consultation. For ear infections, the patient would need to come into the branch to be examined in person at our premises in Leicestershire. How it works Our pharmacists will either do a remote or in person consultation within the privacy of our consultation rooms, they will ask a series of questions to determine if you are seriously ill that may require us to refer you to a different healthcare professional or if you meet the criteria for us to treat you. Our pharmacists will then examine you if you do the consultation in person or if this is done remotely may ask for you to show us for example an infected bite and will then continue with a short series of questions to determine the severity of your illness and the most appropriate treatment.
Pharmacy First is an NHS service and you will not be required to pay for the consultation, if prescription treatment is provided, this will work in the same way as normal NHS prescriptions and there will be exemptions that mean you receive free prescriptions or you will pay an NHS prescription charge.
Criteria for Inclusion
- For UTIs, the patient must be female, and below the age of 65 and the UTI must be uncomplicated and not a recurring one for us to be able to treat this condition, most mild symptoms resolve on their own within 48 hours so you may be given self-care advice.
- For ear infections we can only treat under 18s and we can only provide this service in person as we need to be able to use an otoscope to look into your ears, we will only provide treatment for ear infections if we determine that it is clinically appropriate and you may be given self-care advise and advised. to use pain relief as most earaches go away on their own within a few days.
- Most insect bites are not serious and will resolve within a few days with antihistamines, we may advise over the counter treatments if the bite is not severe or does not look infected.
- If you have shingles and our pharmacist agrees, treatment will be provided if you present within 72 hours of the rash's onset, and you are over 50 or it is one week after the onset of the rash, and you are over 70.
- If you have impetigo, the treatment depends upon the number of lesions, less than 3 you may be offered topical treatment, 4 or more you may be offered an antibiotic.
- If you have an acute sore throat, you may be given self-care advice, pain killers and local anti-inflammatory and anaesthetic throat lozenges or sprays, if however, the symptoms are very severe and have not improved and upon examination it is determined that there is an infection, we may provide antibiotics.
- If you have been suffering from sinusitis you may be offered self-care advise and pain relief initially, depending on the time frame and how severe symptoms are, you may be offered steroid nasal sprays or antibiotics. Please contact our team through our enquiries contact form if you would like more information, if you have one of the above conditions and would like to arrange a consultation, please do so through our consultations page.
