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 at the heart of the community. Patients also trust their pharmacy 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.  We already know that 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. However research from the Royal Pharmaceuciatal Society as stated on the University of Aberdeen website RPS Minor Ailments states that "common ailments such as coughs and sore throats cost the NHS an extra £1.1 billion a year when patients are treated at A&E or GP surgeries rather than at community pharmacies".Therefore there are many benefits to a community pharmacy offering a minor ailments service to their patients including:

• Improves access to medicines and increases patient choice of primary care services
• Promotes self-care through pharmacy, educates and empowers patients in caring for themselves
• Provides access for patients to appropriate advice and/or treatment
• Quality diagnosis to the patient
• Improves primary care capacity by reducing GP practice workload related to minor ailments and in turn improves GP access for patients with more complex conditions
• Helps GP practices to meet various targets
• Makes better use of pharmacists skills and encourages their professional development
• 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
• Helps Commissioning Bodies to achieve local and national targets around GP access and
  choice in primary care

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.