Emergency services

Pharmacists are medically trained and can give you expert advice on medicines and how they work as well as help you decide whether you need to see a doctor. You don’t need an appointment or to even make a purchase, and you can talk to them in a private consultation area in confidence.

Common complaints that can be treated at home with advice from the pharmacist include:

• Skin conditions, such as mild acne and mild eczema
• Coughs and colds including nasal congestion and sore throat
• Minor cuts and bruises
• Constipation and haemorrhoids (piles)
• Hay fever and allergies
• Aches, pains, such as headaches, earaches and backaches
• Indigestion, diarrhoea and threadworms
• Period pain and thrush
• Warts and verrucas, mouth ulcer and cold sores
• Athlete's foot
• Nappy rash and teething

Pharmacists can suggest treatments that do not need a prescription for a range of conditions.

Most pharmacies can also offer prescription medicine for some conditions, without you needing to see a GP or make an appointment. This is called Pharmacy First.

Conditions they can offer prescription medicine for are:

• impetigo (aged 1 year and over)
• infected insect bites (aged 1 year and over)
• earache (aged 1 to 17 years)
• sore throat (aged 5 years and over)
• sinusitis (aged 12 years and over)
• urinary tract infections (UTIs) (women aged 16 to 64 years)
• shingles (aged 18 years and over)

If you are not within these age ranges, a pharmacist can still offer advice and support decisions about self care treatment with over the counter medicines, but you may need to see a GP for treatment.

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 health professional if needed. They will also update your GP health record, but your information will not be shared with anyone else.

Most pharmacies can provide prescription medicine for these conditions but contact them before visiting to check.

NHS 111 can help if you think you need medical help right now.

You can get help from NHS 111:

• by using 111 online
• in the NHS App
• by calling 111

111 can direct you to the best place to get help if you cannot contact your GP during the day, or when your GP is closed (out-of-hours). 

Depending on what you need, you might be advised to:

• call 999 or go to A&E in an emergency
• go to an urgent treatment centre
• see an evening and weekend GP (out-of-hours GP)
• book a callback from a nurse
• get urgent specialist support, for dental or mental health problems
• contact your own GP surgery
• see a pharmacist for help with a minor illness
• look after yourself safely at home

GPs provide a range of services including medical advice, examinations, prescriptions and care for long term conditions, chronic pain and persistent symptoms.

Out of hours, a call to 111 will direct you to out of hours doctors and care.

Please think before you dial 999. The ambulance service is for emergencies and life-threatening situations only. If ambulance crews are called out to those suffering minor illnesses, they cannot get to those who really need their help.

The Emergency Department (A&E) is for serious, life-threatening injuries and illnesses that need urgent medical attention.

 These include:

• loss of consciousness
• serious blood loss
• choking, severe chest pain or breathing difficulty
• serious burns
• strokes and persistent seizures (fits).

People with these types of serious conditions will be treated before those with minor complaints, which would be more appropriately helped by calling 111.

Remember, unless it is an emergency, anyone with symptoms of vomiting or diarrhea should not visit NHS buildings until 48 hours after the symptoms have cleared. Good hand hygiene at all times helps reduce the risk of spreading infection.