A new service to help you be seen more quickly via your local pharmacist for treatment of minor conditions

NHS England has introduced a new, same-day, GP Community Pharmacist Consultation Service to help you receive quality care and support for minor health conditions more quickly by accessing care from your community pharmacist. The service enables practice teams to channel patients with defined and appropriate minor health conditions directly to a community pharmacist for their first contact, where they will receive clinical assessment and treatment advice.

In Chalfont there are three pharmacies currently offering this service:

• Boots, Gerrards Cross
• Richard Adams, Chalfont St Peter
• Lloyds, Chalfont St Giles

How does the new service work?

Click here to watch a video that explains how this new service works.

When you contact us, either online or by phone, a GP will review your request and if you have symptoms of a minor health condition which can be appropriately managed by a pharmacist with medications that won't require a prescription, one of our team will contact you to let you know that we can offer you the option of having a same-day appointment with your community pharmacist as part of this service.

This is for minor illnesses such as: –

• Ankle, foot, knee, lower leg or arm swelling or pain
• Athlete’s foot
• Allergic reactions
• Bites or stings
• Coughs and colds
• Eye infections
• Headaches
• Lower back pain
• Mouth ulcers and blisters
• Rashes
• Sore throat
• Shoulder pain

Community pharmacists are highly qualified and experienced in providing clinical advice and care (including recommending over the counter treatments) for minor illnesses and conditions. They will offer you a same-day consultation via the phone, or in person, which can be arranged quickly and at a time to suit you. They can also contact the GP surgery directly if they have any further queries about the patient they are assessing.

Your pharmacist will take your medical history, ask about your symptoms and any current medication you might be taking. Following the consultation, the pharmacist will offer you self-care advice and if appropriate, offer you an over-the-counter product. The pharmacist will make a record of the outcome of your consultation and send it to your GP.

If having given you advice/treatment, your pharmacist identifies you need further specialist help your pharmacist, will be able to refer you back to your GP, or onto another health service for support.

Community pharmacists have already successfully seen thousands of patients for a consultation for a minor condition, following a call to NHS 111 and through GPs around the country who have been piloting this service. Evidence from these pilots shows advice provided by community pharmacists results in the same outcome, as if the patient went to see their GP, or attended an emergency department.

Advantages for patients using the new GP Community Pharmacist consultation service

• Community pharmacies are local, open longer hours than the GP practices and can offer you the same consultation outcome at a time that is more convenient for you either on the phone, in person or through a video consultation
• If the pharmacist thinks you need to see the GP or other health professional, they can help arrange an urgent appointment for you.
• This will help ensure as patients you receive the right care, in the right place, with the right person and at the right time.
• Introducing this new service, frees up GP appointments for those people with more complex symptoms who really need to see a GP.