Pharmacists can prescribe in England from Wednesday 1st February.

Looking at the list of medical conditions covered I think a lot of these ailments are the sort of things people would just ask a pharmacist what the best OTC remedy is anyway rather than going to a doctor in the first place.

Theexwife

Chestnut

So how do you know whether you have a urinary tract infection? Surely a test is required, in which case you will get your prescription from the doctor who can then send it to the pharmacy.

Also, earache can be a sign of something serious and surely this requires an examination.

Neither are urgent enough to get an immediate appointment with a doctor, sometimes it can be a three week wait or a phone appointment, the pharmacist will ask the same questions as a doctor would and prescribe instantly if nessersary or refer if needed.

I totally disagree, a UTI can be very dangerous…I had one and thought the symptoms were my kidney stones…went to bed and took co-codamol to ease the pain…became unconscious and ( thanks to a neighbour who missed me) was found in bed 3 days/nights later…it developed into sepsis and after 4 weeks of hospitalisation I’m very lucky to be alive!

No the pharmacist will not be paid any money to do this role . The business has to sign up but the pharmacist has to do hours of extra training in their own time. The training finished day before it was rolled out countywide. A pharmacist has a very responsible role , I’m not sure how they can split themselves in two when the shops are so busy. When they are out for lunch, unpaid. The prescriptions even if made up can’t be handed out

Urmstongran

A friend tells me she thinks this has been operational in NHS Scotland for some time?

What do the Scottish GNetters think of it please? Be interesting to get their take on the subject.

It has been operational in Scotland for some time now and everyone I know who has used the service has been very pleased with it. If in any doubt, the pharmacist can refer you on to a GP or other medical care for further help and advice. I have a friend who is a pharmacist and she says it's also working well from their point of view.

Great if it works and pharmacists are willing and able to take on the extra duties.
In theory it should free up GPs but I have my doubts about the practical effect of that. I haven't seen a doctor face to face at my GP practice since 2018-2019, except for flu jabs.

The small pharmacy (Boots) next to my doctors is closing down. Always busy and now patients have to find another pharmacy.

We have a pharmacy at the GP surgery and it's very good. I can order repeat prescriptions via the NHS App and although it's always very busy I find it very efficient. Following my recent accident I'm taking some pretty heavy duty pain killers which can be addictive and I'm having to taper off the drugs slowly so I don't get withdrawal symptoms, I'm doing this by liaising with the pharmacist and tbh so far I've been very impressed. I don't know if my surgery is going to offer this service via the pharmacist, I think they will and I'd have no issue at all if they did.

Jaxjacky

I order repeats through the NHS app SueDonim.

Me too! I ordered my repeat prescription on Monday and got a text this morning to say it’s ready to collect from the pharmacy.

I’m sure I want to stand at Boots pharmacy counter and discuss my bladder infection - dreadful. And they shouldn’t prescribe antibiotics without a lab diagnosis - no point taking the wrong one - we are all getting immune as it is. I talk from experience

Those that are being negative about this service do not have to use it, you will still be able to see a doctor if you need or want to, it is a service that hopefully will free up doctors appointments for more serious issues.

There are areas of the country where a 3 week wait for a doctors appointment is the norm and people that do not want to clog up doctors appointments when a pharmacist can deal with their issues.

Parsley3 I am also in Scotland and my sister in law just got told they can now prescribe for over 60’s with uti ( she cd not get a docs app or prescription for at least a week !!! ) For minor stuff I go to pharmacist and mostly fine, been on go for a few years here.

Diagnosis is an important art of medical care. I presume the signs that pharmacists are allowed to diagnose are easier to diagnose conditions. Not all GPs are good at diagnosis, or prescribing either. The present state of the NHS requires that care is less than excellent.

Our local pharmacist diagnosed me with an ear infection a few weeks ago (it hurt having wax removed) he sent the pictures to my GP. So, I had a GP appointment, infection confirmed and antibiotic ear drops were prescribed. It would have been quicker and a spare GP appointment, if the pharmacist could’ve prescribed the drops.

Blondie49

Parsley3 I am also in Scotland and my sister in law just got told they can now prescribe for over 60’s with uti ( she cd not get a docs app or prescription for at least a week !!! ) For minor stuff I go to pharmacist and mostly fine, been on go for a few years here.

Thank you, that must be new but welcome. I too have used the pharmacy for years.

My husband had what he thought was conjunctivitis.Isuggested he saw a pharmacist ( it was a Sunday).It turns out it was uveitis and he saw our GP the next day and was referred to the ophthalmology clinic as an emergency appointment.Some pharmacists are very good but I do worry that underlying conditions could be missed.

Generally, I'd rather see anyone other than my gp.
I've found the nurses very helpful and more willing to listen.

Will they now be able to access my medical notesI?
If not, how is the advice given, prescription etc recorded?

Ok for obviously minor ailments but take care as one pharmacist was quite willing to hand out a certain drug/prescription that actually would have worsened my long term condition.

A pharmacist recently told my neighbour to apply cream to a burn.

I thought it strange, but the gp was really cross when she had to see him about it, because it wasnt healing.

In reply to the EXWIFE who thinks a UTI is not important, maybe if she had had one and ended up in hospital with a UTI that had spread to the kidneys and then caused sepsis, as I did, she might think differently.

The obvious downside to this is that it places an extra burden on pharmacies, pharmacists and the counter staff. It's a thankless job a lot of the time and the responsibility will be on the individual pharmacies to recruit enough qualified staff to cope with the extra footfall. Perhaps a good question to ask is who's paying the wages for these staff.

Chemists do make mistakes which is why I always read my prescription and check the medication is the same. A local pharmacy where I used to live sadly actually killed someone by giving them the wrong tablets. They closed down afterwards.
Doctors diagnosed me with a bacterial eye infection for many years resulting in antibiotics and antibiotic eye ointment. I went to Bristol Eye hospital one Easter as Doctors were closed where they did a swab test and found out it was a viral infection. Now I get anti viral tablets and ointment and rarely get eye infections maybe one every 2 years compared to 4 or 5 a year. But I'm immune to amoxicillin as had so much of it.
I don't think chemists should be doing this as not able to diagnose. Bladder infections could be cancer or various other conditions and so can earache.

but wouldn't that be the same procedure with GPs.
i mean the pt should be told if symptoms don't clear up after taking medication or within a specified time, to seek further medical advice.
it's often a process of elimination, starting with the most common or simplest to treat possibility.
if no improvement, then escalate to tests or stronger drugs.

seems that they won't be able to prescribe for UTIs in over 65s.
nor for earache in over 18s.

ixion

Will they now be able to access my medical notesI?
If not, how is the advice given, prescription etc recorded?

They have access to the system using your NHS number. Vaccinations given at a pharmacy show up on your records quickly.