Think Pharmacy

If you’re regularly prescribed the same medicine you can collect your repeat prescription directly from your pharmacy. You can chose which pharmacy you would prefer to collect from, which means fewer trips to the GP.

Pharmacists across the Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin continue to offer both flu and COVID-19 vaccinations to those who are eligible. Check whether you are eligible.

Check which pharmacy is offering vaccinations near you.

Women across Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin can now access oral contraception (the pill) and the morning-after pill directly from participating community pharmacies. There is no need to book a GP appointment.

This service is designed to:

• Increase choice and convenience
• Improve access to contraception
• Free up GP appointments for those who need them most

You’ll still receive your annual pill check-up, just as you would with your GP.

How it works:

• Self-refer by visiting a participating pharmacy
• Confidential consultation with a trained pharmacist
• Repeat prescriptions available for those already on oral contraception
• Referrals can also come from GPs, sexual health clinics, NHS 111, or other NHS services

If you experience unusual side effects after three months or have concerns about your contraception, please speak to your pharmacist or GP.

Find a participating pharmacy for oral contraception near you.

Find a participating pharmacy for the morning after pill near you. 

The Community Pharmacy Extended Care Service between NHS England Midlands and community pharmacists allow people to visit a local pharmacy instead of their GP for advice and treatment for a range of minor illnesses. Not every pharmacy offers the same services, to find out which services each pharmacy offers, follow this link.

Treatment: Pharmacists can supply medicines to treat the conditions or recommend over-the-counter medicines. If you are exempt from paying for prescriptions, you will not pay for prescribed medicines from the pharmacist.

Clinical pharmacists in GP practices work as part of the team. They provide:

• structured medication reviews for patients with ongoing health problems
• treatment of patients with long-term conditions such as hypertension or diabetes
• improvement of patients’ safety by ensuring appropriate monitoring of treatments
• help with side-effects if your medicine is making you feel bad
• advice and support to make changes to your life to help you stay well

Seeing a clinical pharmacist frees up the GP, leaving them more time to diagnose and treat patients with more complex conditions.

• • You don’t need to make an appointment to see your pharmacist.
  • Your local pharmacy has a consultation room allowing for privacy.
  • By visiting a pharmacist first, it helps to make more GP and emergency appointments available for people with more complex healthcare needs.
  • Many illnesses can be treated with over-the-counter medicines and advice from your pharmacy.
  • A pharmacist will signpost you quickly to the right medical care if you have anything more serious.
  • A pharmacist can advise on how long you can expect to experience symptoms for.

  To find out more about the ‘Pharmacy First’ service, please click here.

Many common conditions can be treated at home with the support of your local pharmacy if needed. Over the counter products for self-care are things like pain relief, hay fever medication and cough and cold remedies. These items can be bought from pharmacies and supermarkets without a prescription. They are also often cheaper this way. You can get them without an appointment or seeing a doctor.

An important part of self-care is making sure you are equipped to look after you and your family. You can do this by ensuring you have a medicine cabinet fully stocked with essential medicines and products.

For more information, please refer to the following:

• NHS England — Midlands » Pharmacy in the Midlands
• NHS England — Midlands » Bank Holiday pharmacy opening times