As qualified healthcare professionals, pharmacists can offer clinical advice and over-the-counter medicines for a range of minor illnesses, such as coughs, colds, sore throats, tummy trouble and aches and pains.
For more information visit NHS How your pharmacy can help
Nearest pharmacies to Heart of Bath
Hounsell and Greene (01225 422960) An independent pharmacy, onsite at our Oldfield Surgery
Hawes Whiston (01225 424662) An independent pharmacy, closest to our St James’s Surgery
Your choice of pharmacy
You are free to choose whichever pharmacy you prefer to dispense your medication. It could be local to you or anywhere in England if you are temporarily away. Visit NHS How to find a pharmacy. The POD can help you change your usual (or nominated) pharmacy either just this time or ongoing.
If you are prescribed a medicine to treat a long-term condition for the first time, you may be able to get extra help and advice about your medicine from your local pharmacist through a free scheme called the New Medicine Service (NMS). For more information visit NHS New Medicine Service
Dangers of buying medicines online
As more people use the internet to understand their health issues, some also go online to buy prescription medicine.
But many websites selling medicines are not registered as pharmacies, so buying from them is potentially unsafe.
Medicine from an unregistered website could also be dangerous to your health because it might be out of date, diluted or fake.
For further information visit NHS Dangers of buying medicines online
New NHS service
On 1st October 2021, NHS England and NHS Improvement commissioned community pharmacies to provide the NHS Hypertension Case-Finding Advanced Service. The service aims to:
- Identify people aged 40 years or older with high blood pressure who have previously not had a confirmed diagnosis of hypertension. At the discretion of the pharmacist, people under the age of 40 may also be included in the service.
- Where the person’s blood pressure is high, they will be referred to their general practice to confirm diagnosis and for appropriate management.
- At the request of a general practice, undertake ad hoc normal and ambulatory blood pressure measurements (ABPM).
- Provide another opportunity to promote healthy behavior’s to patients.
The service will be provided in the consultation room by pharmacists, and it has two stages:
- Stage 1 – Identifying people at risk of hypertension and offering them the opportunity to have their blood pressure measured.
- Stage 2 – This is offered if a person’s blood pressure reading is high at Stage 1. A person will be offered 24-hour ABPM. Patients who are then identified with high or very high blood pressure will be referred to their general practice
