LOCAL pharmacists are using Ask Your Pharmacist Week (1 – 8 November) to highlight the important role they can play in helping people to stay well.
Pharmacists are experts in medicines who can help you with minor health concerns. As qualified healthcare professionals, they can offer clinical advice and over-the-counter medicines for a range of minor illnesses.
Daniel Wong, local Community Pharmacist, said: “Ask Your Pharmacist Week is a great opportunity to showcase the role we play in providing healthcare to our communities.
“We are experts in medicines, and together with our practical knowledge, we can advise you on minor health concerns, such as coughs, colds, aches and pains, as well as healthy eating and stopping smoking.
“You can talk to a pharmacist in confidence, even about the most personal symptoms, and you don’t need to make an appointment. It’s possible to walk into any community pharmacy and ask to speak with the pharmacist privately.
“We can help you consider the alternatives next time you’re thinking of making a doctor’s appointment and advise whether you need to see your GP.”
This year’s theme for Ask Your Pharmacist Week is “your local pharmacy can help”, and it’s a great opportunity to highlight how the range of clinical services provided by community pharmacies have expanded in recent years.
Mr Wong continued: “We want to encourage patients to keep their local pharmacists in mind when they become unwell. Trained pharmacists are right here in your local community, ready to help when you need us.”
What services do pharmacies offer?
All pharmacies provide the following services:
Dispensing medicines
Disposal of unwanted or out-of-date medicines
Advice on treatment of minor health concerns and healthy living.
Other services that may also be available from some local pharmacies:
Advice on alcohol consumption
Support for carers
Emergency hormonal contraception service
Emergency supply of prescription medicines
Flu vaccination service
Independent prescribing by pharmacists – some pharmacists can now prescribe prescription-only medicines for certain medical conditions
Minor ailment service
Needle and syringe exchange service
New Medicine Service
NHS Health Check – blood pressure, cholesterol or blood glucose testing
Stop smoking service
Stop smoking voucher service
Supervised consumption of prescribed medicines
Weight management service
Find the pharmacies closest to you by visiting www.nhs.uk/service-search/pharmacy/find-a-pharmacy
