NHS high street check-ups pass 300,000

An NHS scheme which has seen tens of thousands of people get a face-to-face appointment with a local pharmacist is accelerating as people start to return to normal life after the peak of the coronavirus pandemic.

NHS England says that almost a third of a million health checks have now taken place under the new scheme, the majority of which – more than 180,000 – have taken place since the NHS stepped up its response to the emerging threat of coronavirus at the end of January.

The ambition for the NHS Community Pharmacist Consultation Service was set out in the NHS Long Term Plan, published in January 2019, as one of a number of improvements to the popular 111 service to enable the public to access the right help in the right place.

Available through the NHS 111 phone or online service, those who would benefit are booked in for a face-to-face consultation with a pharmacist for a range of minor illnesses or to get an urgent supply of a previously prescribed medicine.

With the NHS encouraging more people to come forward for care who might have held back due to coronavirus concerns, local pharmacies are gearing up to provide an increasing number of consultations safely, so that all those who would benefit can be referred.

NHS England chief executive Sir Simon Stevens said: “High street pharmacists are highly qualified clinical experts who are playing a key part in the NHS’s frontline response to the greatest public health threat in our history, and they are making thousands of safe, convenient consultations available every day.

“This new service is part of a continually-developing NHS 111 service which is helping millions of people to safely access the right help fast, often without the need to go to a hospital A&E department. As the NHS adapts its urgent care services for the coronavirus era, these new options are going to be increasingly important.”