Benjamin Chemists

Needle and syringe exchange services

Needle and syringe exchange service
A non-judgemental and confidential service that gives drug users access to sterile needles, syringes and other associated items. Sharps containers for the safe disposal of used equipment may also be available at the pharmacy. This can help reduce the risk of the transmission of blood-borne infections that can be caught by sharing needles and syringes. The pharmacy can provide support and advice on issues relating to drug use, including referral to other health and social care professionals or specialist drug and alcohol treatment services where appropriate and provide free confidential Hepatitis and HIV testing.

Pharmacy chlamydia screening and treatment service

This is a non-judgemental, free, confidential service for those who are sexually active and under the age of 25. Chlamydia testing kits may be provided on request or proactively, for example when you purchase condoms or go to get your prescription for oral contraceptive pills dispensed. This service is sometimes provided alongside the Emergency Hormonal Contraception (EHC) service. The pharmacy will be able to give you advice on how to use the chlamydia testing kit, how to return it for testing and what will happen when your test results come back. We may also be able to provide you with treatment if the results of the test are positive.

Pharmacy NHS service: emergency hormonal contraception (EHC) service

AKA: The morning after pill
Hackney residents and workers can get emergency contraception free of charge, but note that the pharmacist will have a confidential discussion with you first to make sure this is the correct course of action to take. In the discussion, the pharmacist will assess the suitability of emergency contraception for you and can advise you on the risks of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) as well as providing information about what to do in the long term, such as considering options for ongoing contraception. The pharmacist may also provide you with additional advice on safe sex and other matters related to sexual behaviour. Patients from outside of the borough can still access the service but will have to pay for any medicine supplied. There may be specific criteria in place (set by the local NHS) that need to be met before this service can be provided to a patient.

Pharmacy NHS service: medicine use review (MUR) service

A medicine check-up service, which is useful if you regularly take several prescription medicines or are on medicines for a long-term illness. This confidential medicines check-up will help you to find out more about your medicine, identify any problems you may be having with taking your medicines as intended and help you to take your medicine/s to best effect.

Pharmacy NHS service: medicines assessment and compliance support service

The pharmacy will help support independent living for vulnerable people, or those with special needs who may experience problems with medicine taking and who do not fall within the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 criteria. The pharmacy will assess the patient’s knowledge and use of their medicines and, based on the information gathered, will invite the patient or their carer to discuss the different types of support available to help the patient take their medicines as intended. They will then jointly come to an agreement about the best support for that patient. The kind of support could include medicines reminder charts, medication administration record (MAR) charts, labeling medicines in larger fonts and multi-compartment compliance aids (these have the days of the week written on them to help ensure the medicine is taken on the correct day and at the correct time).

Pharmacy NHS service: minor ailments service

AKA: Pharmacy First
The pharmacy can provide advice and support for the treatment of a minor ailment that you may have. This includes being able to supply medicines or appliances (medical devices) at NHS expense, without the need for you to go and get a prescription from your GP first. The pharmacy may just provide advice about what you can do to help with the symptoms, or they may supply an over-the-counter medicine to treat the minor ailment, or, where appropriate, refer you to another healthcare professional. The local NHS may require the pharmacy to satisfy certain criteria before this service can be provided to patients.

Pharmacy NHS service: new medicine service

New medicine service
When you are prescribed a medicine to treat a long-term condition for the first time, the pharmacist will support you to use the medicine safely and to best effect. The pharmacist will talk to you approximately one-two weeks after you first receive the medicine to see how you are getting on with it and to discuss any problems you may have. A second follow-up will be a month after you first receive the medicine. The service is only available to people using certain medicines. In some cases where there is a problem apparent and a solution cannot be found between you and the pharmacist, you will be referred back to your doctor.

Pharmacy NHS service: seasonal influenza vaccination service

Between August 1 and March 31 the following year, pharmacies will encourage those who fall within nationally agreed target groups to have the flu vaccination, which can be administered by a trained pharmacist. You'll be offered the vaccination if you fall within one or more of the target groups but you can of course choose not to have it. However, a pharmacist will recommend that a GP administers the vaccine, depending on your medical history. There may be specific criteria (set by the local NHS) that need to be met before this service can be provided to a patient.
The flu vaccination is also available privately to patients who do not fall within the target groups for a small professional service fee.

Pharmacy NHS service: supervised consumption of prescribed medicines service

The pharmacist will supervise the consumption of prescribed medicines at the point the medicine is handed to the patient to ensure that the correct dose is taken. The service is frequently used to support people taking medicines daily to manage substance misuse problems, but could be used for other medicines such as medicines to treat tuberculosis. This is a user-friendly, non-judgemental service, and includes the provision of support and advice about your specific medicine.

Pharmacy services

FREE, CONFIDENTIAL TEST for HEPATITIS B, HEPATITIS C and HIV

The test is simple and involves a finger prick. Results are given by the pharmacist within two weeks.

Sexual health services

Come - Correct
This is a non-judgemental service providing sexual health advice and free condom provision for under 25s.

Come Correct is designed to help keep you safe by giving you access to free condoms in places where you already go. There are Easy Access Points (EAPs for short) across Hackney as well as many other places across London.

The service is confidential, which means we won't tell anyone about your visit. Once you’ve met one of our trained advisors you’ll be given a card so that you can pick up condoms every week, wherever you see the ‘Come-Correct’ logo

http://www.c-card.org.uk/hackney

Stop smoking services

This one-to-one service is designed to provide support and advice to people who want to give up smoking. You will have access to a stop smoking adviser who can assist you in creating your own personalised stop smoking plan. The pharmacy may supply appropriate stop smoking medicines and aids as required and may also refer you to other specialist services if your adviser thinks it is necessary. This pharmacy offers a one-to-one NHS stop smoking service.