Benefits of running a minor ailments service in a community pharmacy

Community pharmacy professionals are widely accepted as sources of treatment and advice for managing minor ailments, largely owing to their location in the heart of the community. Patients also trust their Pharmacist and pharmacy team. They will happily go to their community pharmacy for support as access to GP surgeries, for many, can be complicated for a variety of reasons e.g., location and appointment availability.  Minor ailments are generally defined as medical conditions that will resolve on their own and can be reasonably self-diagnosed and self-managed with over the counter medications.

Therefore there are many benefits to a community pharmacy offering a minor ailments service to their patients including:

• Improves access to medicines
• Increases patient choice 
• Promotes self-care 
• Provides access for patients to appropriate advice and/or treatment
• Quality diagnosis to the patient
• Improves primary care capacity by reducing GP practice workload 
• Helps GP practices to meet various targets
• Makes better use of pharmacists skills 
• Promotes the roles of the community pharmacist and wider pharmacy team
• Promotes better working relationships between community pharmacists and GPs
• Potentially reduces waiting times in A&E

When your pharmacy is registered for the Minor Ailment Service, your pharmacist can give medicines for a minor illness or complaint, if they think it is needed.The Minor Ailment Service is an NHS service for various patient groups (whom dont usually pay prescription charges) including:

• Children
• People aged 60 or over
• People who hold a medical exemption certificate
• People on certain benefits.