Visits to the GP for minor ailments add up to a staggering 57 million consultations a year. But by visiting your pharmacy instead you could save yourself time and trouble in the future.
Instead of booking and waiting for a GP appointment, you can visit your local pharmacist any time: just walk in.
All pharmacists can recognise many common health complaints, and provide advice or, where appropriate, medicines, that will help clear up the problem. If your problem is more serious and needs the attention of a GP, your pharmacist will recognise this, and advise you to see your GP.
What’s more, many pharmacies are open at evenings and weekends. This is often more convenient than trying to get an appoinment with your GP. If everybody went to a pharmacist with common health problems, more time would be freed up for our GPs. This may then make it easier to get a convenient appointment with your GP next time you need one.
So remember, if you have a common health problem, a trip to your pharmacy is another choice that's open to you.
Your pharmacist may be able to help with:
- Skin conditions such as mild acne and mild eczema.
- Coughs and colds, including nasal congestion and sore throat.
- Minor cuts and bruises.
- Constipation and haemorrhoids (piles).
- Hayfever and allergies.
- Aches and pains like headache, earache and backache.
- Indigestion, diarrhoea and threadworms.
- Period pain and thrush.
- Warts, verrucas, mouth ulcers and cold sores.
- Athlete's foot.
- Nappy rash and teething.
Some pharmacies can provide truss fittings, stoma products and incontinence supplies.
Go to your GP, a walk-in centre, or accident and emergency for:
- Suturing or wound and dressing care.
- Muscle and joint injuries, including strains and sprains.
- Lacerations, cuts, fractures, severe sprains and strains.
- Infected wounds and foreign bodies.
- Head injuries or loss of consciousness.
- Suspected broken bones or heavy blood loss.
- Persistent chest pain or difficulty breathing.
- Overdose or poisoning.
Minor ailment services
All pharmacies can provide advice on some common health problems, and offer advice and medicines that will help to alleviate them.
In addition some pharmacies run a minor ailment service, which means they can supply medicines for certain specific conditions on the NHS. It is up to local primary care trusts (PCTs) to decide whether pharmacies in your area provide these services.
If your pharmacy runs a minor ailment service for eczema, for example, that means your pharmacist can supply medicines for this condition and you will only pay the standard prescription charge. Or if you are exempt from paying prescription charges, because you're over 60, for example, you will not pay for the medicine.
You can check if your pharmacy runs a minor ailment service by using our services directory. (Find your local pharmacy in Getting started on the right of this page.) Or simply drop in to your local pharmacy and ask.
