South west Londoners will now be able to get treatment for seven common conditions at their high street pharmacy without needing to see a GP as part of a major transformation in the way the NHS delivers care.
More than nine in 10 community pharmacies in England – 10,265 in total – will be offering the ground-breaking initiative, with the health service making it easier and more convenient for people to access care. Some 266 pharmacies are involved in south west London.
Highly trained pharmacists will be able to assess and treat patients for sinusitis, sore throat, earache, infected insect bite, impetigo, shingles and uncomplicated urinary tract infections in women (under the age of 65) without the need for a GP appointment or prescription. Patients will be able to be walk in to a pharmacy or be referred by their GP to get access to Pharmacy First services.
South west Londoners rightly value the support they receive from their expert pharmacist, and with pharmacies never being too far away on high streets and local parades, they are the perfect spot to offer people convenient and expert care for common conditions.
NHS South West London’s Community Pharmacy Clinical Lead Dina Thakker
The major expansion of pharmacy services will give the public more choice in where and how they access care, aiming to free up 10 million GP appointments nationally a year.
The scheme is part of the NHS and government’s primary care access recovery plan, which committed to making accessing healthcare easier for millions of people.
It builds on the successful expansion of the contraceptive pill service in December 2023, with more than 5,000 pharmacies now registered to offer women the chance to get a supply of oral contraception over the counter from their pharmacy without needing to first see their GP.
In future, the NHS expects almost half a million women a year to receive their contraception from their high street pharmacist.
NHS South West London’s Community Pharmacy Clinical Lead Dina Thakker said: “GPs in south west London are already treating tens of thousands more people a month than before the pandemic but with an ageing population and growing demand, we know the NHS needs to give people more choice and make accessing care as easy as possible.
“South west Londoners rightly value the support they receive from their expert pharmacist, and with pharmacies never being too far away on high streets and local parades, they are the perfect spot to offer people convenient and expert care for common conditions.
“So this is a wonderful move to increase accessibility to healthcare for patients. We all live increasingly busy lives and this gives people more options on how and where they access care. It will also relieve pressure on GPs, freeing up a huge number of appointments for those who need them the most.”
Community pharmacies already play a vital role in keeping their local communities healthy and well.
Pharmacists are now ramping up the number of life-saving blood pressure checks given to at-risk patients over the next year with a commitment to deliver 2.5 million a year nationally by spring 2025 – up from 900,000 carried out in 2022. It is estimated this could prevent more than 1,350 heart attacks and strokes in the first year.
A recent Ipsos survey showed nine in 10 people who used a pharmacy in the last 12 months to get advice about medicines, a health problem or injury had a positive experience.
The Government has made £645 million of new funding available to support the continued expansion of community pharmacy services.