Column: Think pharmacy first and get advice from your local team

​Going to your local pharmacy offers a more convenient way to get clinical advice on minor health concerns from highly-skilled health professionals.

You can just pop in to see us and you’ll find us on high streets across the county.

Under the new Pharmacy First scheme, more than 200 community pharmacies in Nottingham and

Nottinghamshire (95 per cent) can offer treatment for these seven conditions:

Earache (children aged 1-17); Impetigo (anyone aged one and over); Infected insect bites (anyone aged one and over); Shingles (anyone aged 18 and over); Sinusitis (anyone aged 12 and over); Sore throat (anyone aged five and over); Urinary tract infections (women aged 16-64).

Many community pharmacies now offer other NHS services as well.

Blood pressure checks help identify 5.5 million people with undiagnosed blood pressure at risk of heart attack and stroke and the contraception service allows community pharmacists to initiate new patients on contraception pills, as well as issuing supply for ongoing patients.

We work closely with other NHS services such as GP Practices and NHS 111, which means we can also signpost you to the right service, where necessary.

It’s our aim to help patients, families and carers in their communities stay healthy and are well placed to offer treatment for a range of health conditions.

And by expanding the services we provide, we can free up GP appointments, allowing them to concentrate on more complex conditions and give local people more choice in how and where they access care.

Don’t wait for minor health concerns to get worse – think pharmacy first and get seen by your local pharmacy team.