Ask Your Pharmacist Week 4-11 November

Clinical Expertise close to home, with no appointment needed 

It’s Ask Your Pharmacist Week from 4-11 November and community pharmacies across Northern Ireland are using the National Pharmacy Association awareness campaign to remind people of the wealth of clinical expertise available locally without an appointment.

With difficulties accessing GP and emergency department services continuing, the role of community pharmacies has never been more important and the first port of call for many everyday health conditions could be to simply Ask Your Pharmacist.

 Gerard Greene, Chief Executive of Community Pharmacy Northern Ireland (CPNI) said,

“Patients have access to a health professional in the form of a highly trained team of clinical experts in their community pharmacy. Pharmacists train for five years, learning about the use of medicines to treat disease and diagnosing common illnesses, and they are continually developing their knowledge and skills. 

“Many everyday conditions can be treated urgently without needing to see a GP. However, very importantly, community pharmacists know how to spot the signs of serious illness, and they will refer patients to a doctor or other suitable healthcare professional if necessary.

“There have been many cases where a pharmacist has spotted signs of something which needed medical attention. In fact, there have been with numerous life-saving interventions by pharmacists across Northern Ireland with conditions such as a stroke, skin cancer and severe allergic reactions picked up and subsequently treated successfully.

“As an essential part of frontline health and social care, community pharmacists have expanded their range of services over the years to deliver support with COVID-19 and flu vaccination programmes and to provide treatments for some of the common winter illnesses.

“Under the Pharmacy First service, many pharmacies offer over the counter emergency contraception; and they can treat urinary tract and bacterial sore throat infections. Community pharmacy services like these can significantly relieve the pressure on GPs.

“Community pharmacists aim to keep people healthy and well at home for as long as possible. They live locally and they get to know entire generations of families, from the cradle to old age and they support many patients with long-term medical conditions. They are a trusted and integral part of front line services to keep people well in their local community. Ask Your Pharmacy Week provides a welcome opportunity to remind people of the clinical health expertise right on their doorstep. We would encourage people to make their local community pharmacy a natural first port of call for expert healthcare advice.”