Ask Your Pharmacist | Pharmacy Services

Pharmacy Services

The annual cost to the NHS of admissions to hospital resulting from mainly avoidable harms from medicines in the community is estimated as £359 Million

Pharmacy Services

There's more available from your local pharmacy than you might think.

What can my pharmacist do for me?
Community pharmacists can dispense your prescriptions, (including repeat prescriptions), provide advice and treatment for minor ailments without prescription. They can offer health and lifestyle advice and direct you to other sources of support, advice or treatment. They will also arrange for the safe disposal of unused medicines.

Pharmacists can help you decide whether or not you need to see a doctor. There is no need to make an appointment to see a pharmacist, and you can talk to them in confidence, even about symptoms that are very personal. Many pharmacies now have a consultation room or area to provide privacy.

They may also provide a range of additional services including:

Collecting prescriptions from local GP surgeries on behalf of patients – some pharmacies will collect your prescription from your surgery to save you time.
Delivery of prescriptions to patients – some pharmacies can deliver your prescription medicines to your home.
Supplementary and independent prescribing – some pharmacists can now prescribe prescription medicines for certain medical conditions.
Minor Ailments Service – some pharmacies are able to provide treatments on the NHS for a range of minor ailments such as athlete’s foot or headlice.
Stop smoking service – pharmacists can help you give up smoking through advice, support and, if appropriate, Nicotine Replacement Therapy.
Medicines use reviews – one-to-one consultations to ensure that you are getting the most from your medicines, particularly useful if you are on multiple or long-term medication.
Veterinary medicines – pharmacies can now supply a range of veterinary medicines.
Blood pressure testing – You can't tell if your blood pressure is too high - many pharmacists can now check your blood pressure and offer lifestyle advice about how you can stay healthy. Use our search facility to find out where you can access this service.
Cholesterol testing – Pharmacists can now offer a simple "finger prick" test that can reveal your cholesterol level - results why you wait. Advice on how to reduce your cholesterol level is on hand too. Use our search facility to find out where you can access this service.
Blood glucose testing – Having too much glucose in your blood may indicate you are at risk of diabetes. Pharmacists can offer a simple finger prick test that will let you know if your blood glucose level is too high, advice is also on hand to keep it low or reduce it too. Use our search facility to find out where you can access this service.
Chlamydia screening – The signs and symptoms of Chlamydia are invisible, but just a simple urine test, carried out in the privacy of your own home can tell you if you may be carrying the infection. Many pharmacies now supply the test kits - results come back from the lab in a matter of days. Use our search facility to find out where you can access this service.
Flu vaccination – The risk of catching flu can be considerably reduced through vaccination. Many pharmacies now have a consultation area and will be able to supply and administer the vaccine. Use our search facility to find out where you can access this service.
Full clinical medication review – In conjunction with you and your Doctor, some pharmacists can now review your prescribed medicines - not to be confused with a Medicines Use Review, (MUR), this service is about having an in depth look at your medicines. Use our search facility to find out where you can access this service.

These services may not be available at all pharmacies, but most pharmacies will provide a range of services. Ask at your pharmacy about the services they provide or see them here.

Preventing medicines being wasted
The NHS spends £8billion on medicines a year and issues 752 million prescriptions.According to the National Audit Office, medicines worth over £100million are returned unused every year but this is a cautious estimate of the total drugs wastage as it only relates to medicines actually returned. The Department of Health estimates that as many as 1 in 9 households have at least... More

Repeat dispensing

If you, or someone you care for, use the same medicines regularly, you may not need to get a new prescription every time you need more medicine.

You may be able to benefit from repeat dispensing from the pharmacist. This means you won’t have to visit the surgery or make an appointment to see the doctor or practice nurse every time you need more medicine.

STEP 1
The first step is to talk to the person who prescribes your medicines – your prescriber – and ask them if you can use repeat dispensing. Your prescriber will usually be your doctor or practice nurse.

Your prescriber will give you a signed authorisation form (which is valid up to a year) and some repeat dispensing issue forms. They will explain to you what these forms are for.

STEP 2
Take the authorisation form and one of your issue forms to the pharmacy when you need your first batch of medicine.

The pharmacist keeps your authorisation form. You should keep the rest of your issue forms in a safe place, or ask the pharmacy to look after them for you. You will need one each time you collect your medicine.

STEP 3
Next time you need more medicine, go back to the same pharmacy with a new issue form. If the pharmacy is looking after the forms for you, contact them and tell them you need more medicine so they can have it ready for you when you go in. Remember to fill in your issue form when you get to the pharmacy so they can give you your medicine.
If you have any questions, just ask your pharmacist. They’ll be happy to help you.

Is there a community pharmacy near me?

79% of people in Great Britain have a community pharmacy within one kilometre of their home, and 47% have one within 500 metres. Maybe you could walk to your local pharmacy? You could benefit your health and the environment at the same time.

Simply enter you postcode below to return a list of pharmacies in your area. If you are looking for a particular service that your local community pharmacy offers then use the drop down filter to select this.