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Newbury MP Laura Farris visits Lambourn Pharmacy as Government introduces Pharmacy First scheme




Newbury MP Laura Farris has welcomed the launch of a government scheme allowing patients to get more prescription medication directly from pharmacies.

Pharmacy First will mean patients can get a number of treatments without a GP appointment or prescription.

Newbury MP Laura Farris
Newbury MP Laura Farris

Already, 246 pharmacies in Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and West Berkshire have signed up.

The scheme was launched by the government and NHS England on January 31.

Laura Farris visited Lambourn Pharmacy to discuss it with pharmacist Graham Jones.

She said: “I am delighted that the government has launched the Pharmacy First approach, using the skills of our wonderful pharmacists like Graham to treat more people in the community without the need for a GP.”

Community pharmacists will now be able to supply prescription-only medicines, including antibiotics and antivirals where clinically appropriate, to treat seven common health conditions.

These conditions are sinusitis, sore throat, earache, infected insect bites, impetigo (a bacterial skin infection), shingles and uncomplicated urinary tract infections in women.

Health and social care secretary Victoria Atkins said: “This is good news for patients and good news for the NHS.

“It will free up millions of GP appointments per year and mean that patients can get quick and effective treatment from their local pharmacy.

“As four in five people live within a 20-minute walk of a pharmacy, for many seeing their local pharmacist will be the easiest option.

“So this initiative will have real benefits for patients and help cut NHS waiting lists.”



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