Pharmacy First
NHS Pharmacy First Scotland is an NHS service provided by your local community pharmacy.
If you have a minor illness, a pharmacy is the first place you should go for advice.
You do not usually need an appointment and you can go to any pharmacy.
Your local pharmacist or a trained member of the pharmacy team will give you advice and provide medicine if needed. They may need to refer you to another healthcare professional such as your GP practice, dentist, optometrist or another NHS service if they feel your condition needs further investigation or more specialist care.
A member of the pharmacy team can give you advice and treatment (if you need it) for minor illnesses such as the following.
In addition to Pharmacy First, all pharmacies in Scotland can also provide:
Public Health Services
Smoking cessation
12 week service offering weekly face to face support and providing either nicotine replacement products or varenicline (champix).
Emergency Hormonal Contraception
Confidential access to both levonorgestrol and Ella one.
Up to 120 hours post coital Free of charge
Chronic Medication Service
Serial prescriptions
For stable patients on regular repeat medication you can sign them off for 48 weeks on a serial prescription.
Pharmaceutical care
Pharmacists will be delivering care for patients on certain high risk meds e.g warfarin, methotrexate, lithium
Compliance Aids (dosette boxes)
Patients must be assessed to ensure suitability of solution.
Many pharmacies will have a waiting list for assessing suitability, but may be able to help.
MAR Charts
To aid carers in the administration of medication