- NHS Pharmacy First Scotlandis an NHS service provided by your local community pharmacy (a pharmacy with a contract to provide NHS prescriptions and services).
- If you have a minor illness, a pharmacy is the first place you should go for advice.
- You do not usually need an appointment and you can go to any pharmacy.
- Your pharmacist can give you advice for a minor illness, and medicine if they think you need it.
- NHS Pharmacy First Scotlandis available from all pharmacies in Scotland that dispense NHS prescriptions.
How does the service work?
- Pharmacists and their teams are experts in medicines and can help with minor health concerns.
- A pharmacist can give you advice and treatment (if you need it) for minor illnesses such as the following.
- Acne
- Allergies
- Athlete’s foot
- Backache
- Blocked or runny nose
- Cold sores
- Constipation
- Cough
- Cystitis (in women)
- Diarrhoea
- Earache
- Eczema
- Headache
- Head lice
- Haemorrhoids (piles)
- Hay fever
- Impetigo
- Indigestion
- Mouth ulcers
- Sore throat
- Pain
- Period pain
- Threadworms
- Thrush
- Warts
- Verrucas
- The pharmacist will:
- ask you about your symptoms;
- give you advice on your condition;
- provide medication (if you need it); and
- refer you to another healthcare professional (for example, your GP) if they think this is necessary.
- They will set up a Patient Medication Record (PMR) to make a note of any advice and treatment they give you.
- You can ask to use the pharmacy’s consultation area or room if you want to speak to the pharmacist in private.
To find out more
- Contact the NHS Inform helpline on 0800 22 44 88
(calls from a landline are free), or NHS Inform website at
nhsinform.scot;
