Patients in England can get treatment for seven common conditions without needing to see a GP, under a shake-up of pharmacy services. Thousands of pharmacists will now be able to treat patients attending the pharmacy for sinusitis, sore throat, earache, infected insect bites, impetigo, shingles and uncomplicated urinary tract infections in women under 65 without the need for a GP appointment or prescription. If you go to a pharmacy with one of these conditions, the pharmacist will offer you advice, treatment or refer you to a GP or other healthcare professional.
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00:00 Patients in England can now get treatment for seven common conditions without needing
00:06 to see a GP under a shake-up of pharmacy services. Thousands of pharmacists will now be able
00:12 to treat patients attending the pharmacy for sinusitis, sore throats, earaches, infected
00:19 insect bites, impetigo, shingles and uncomplicated urinary tract infections in women under 65
00:27 without the need for a GP appointment or prescription. If you go to a pharmacy with one of these
00:32 conditions the pharmacy will offer you advice, treatment or refer you to a GP or other healthcare
00:38 professionals. They will then update your healthcare records. But what do locals think?
00:44 Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant. Very sensible. Years and years ago I did have a friend who
00:50 was a pharmacist and they are trained just as well as doctors and quite often they know
00:57 quite a bit more about what is going on because they are face to face with people every day.
01:04 The idea behind the scheme is to give people more places to get the care they need and
01:09 to assist GPs. Pharmacies will each receive an initial fixed payment of £2,000 for providing
01:16 the scheme plus £15 for every consultation and a monthly fixed payment of £1,000 if
01:22 they do a minimum number of consultations. When we asked Bristolians what they would
01:28 like to see brought to their local high street many actually said more chemists. Many locals
01:36 have said that they want to see more pharmacies and GP surgeries on their local high streets.
01:43 Let's find out if Bristolians agree. Oh definitely I think that is brilliant. I know the wait
01:52 times is quite long for people when they are not well. It is quite nice to have another
01:57 one to go to and to not have to hang around the long queues and things. Definitely. Well
02:03 the chemists, we are two and we got down to one. But everything is going down isn't it?
02:12 Bringing prices down right. People don't have to go to supermarkets have they? For
02:17 example here in Westbury, another chemist might be a good idea. We have got one already
02:23 in the doctor's surgery and the doctor's surgery is very good. It has saved my life actually.
02:29 Westbury on Trim, doctor's service and Southmead Hospital. So I have got nothing but praise
02:35 for the health service. But I think maybe another chemist here would be good as well
02:40 as the one we have got. I am indeed. I think it has been underfunded. Whatever political
02:48 party you belong to. I am 79 so I have seen them come and I have seen them go. Only time
02:55 will tell how the new plans for pharmacies across the UK works.
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