Pharmacy
Pharmacists play a key role in providing quality healthcare to patients in Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin
Working in the community, pharmacists use their clinical expertise together with their practical knowledge to ensure the safe supply and use of medicines.
As well as dispensing your prescriptions and other medicines, they offer testing and screening for common medical conditions and can advise if you have a minor illness and common problems, such as:
- Coughs, colds and flu
- Bugs and viruses
- Minor injuries
- Tummy troubles
- Women’s health
- Skin conditions
- Allergies
- Aches and pains
- Children’s problems
- Sexual health
If symptoms suggest it’s something more serious, pharmacists have the right clinical training to make sure you get the help you need immediately and can refer patients to a doctor, nurse or A&E where necessary.
Many pharmacies are open until late and at weekends. You don’t need an appointment – you just walk in.
Most pharmacies have a private consultation room where you can discuss issues with staff without being overheard.
Repeat prescriptions
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.
Benefits of using the pharmacy
- You don’t need to make an appointment to see a pharmacist
- Your local pharmacy will have a consultation room allowing for privacy
- By visiting a pharmacist first, it helps 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
Offer advice on how to self-care
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.