Seven illnesses patients no longer need to see a GP about

Millions of patients can now see a pharmacist for treatment for a range of illnesses – sparing them the long wait to visit their GP or go to A&E.

Launching across England today, the Pharmacy First service allows pharmacists to offer expert advice and provide medicines to treat seven common conditions, which are:

Earache 
Impetigo  
Infected insect bites 
Shingles 
Sinusitis  
Sore throat  
UTIs in women 

It comes as NHS figures released this month reveal one in 20 patients in England had to wait at least four weeks to see their GP while one in six had to wait two weeks or more [1].

The average number of patients currently seen by a single GP in England is 2,290 [1].

A poll conducted for Well Pharmacy reveals that 75% of people are likely to seek advice or treatment at a pharmacy when the service launches – 72% of men and 77% of women. 
    
The survey suggests infected insect bites could be the condition pharmacists deal with the most after 86% of patients said they would likely go to a pharmacy for help.
   
Sore throats came second, with 85% of patients revealing they would likely see a pharmacist over a GP, compared to 82% for earache and sinusitis.

Some 69% said they would visit a pharmacy about impetigo and 63% for shingles – the same amount of women who said they would speak to a pharmacist about a urinary tract infection.

However, Well – Britain’s biggest independent pharmacy chain – believes 60 to 70 per cent of its patients taking advantage of the new service will be women with a UTI, a painful infection that caused 1.8million hospital admissions in England in the past five years [2].

Well Pharmacy Superintendent Ifti Khan said: “We’ve spent the last few months training and preparing colleagues for the rush of patients when Pharmacy First launches.

‘‘This truly game-changing service will bring fast and much-needed relief for millions of patients who have previously had to endure long delays to see their GP.

“From today, patients across England can literally think ‘Pharmacy First’ if they contract any of these common illnesses.”