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It’s Ask Your Pharmacist Week from 4-11 November and community pharmacies locally are using the National Pharmacy Association awareness campaign to remind people of the wealth of clinical expertise available locally without an appointment.
With many people having difficulties accessing GP and emergency department services the role of community pharmacies has never been more important,
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and the first port of call for many everyday health conditions could be to simply Ask Your Pharmacist.
Highlighting the facility Clare Conroy of Meigh Pharmacy said: “Patients have access to a health professional in the form of a highly trained team of clinical experts in their community pharmacy. We train for five years, learning about the use of medicines to treat disease and diagnosing common illnesses, and we are continually developing our knowledge and skills.
“Many everyday conditions can be treated urgently without needing to see a GP. However, very importantly, we know how to spot the signs of serious illness, and we 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."
Pharmacies 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 also treat urinary tract and bacterial sore throat infections. Community pharmacy services like these can significantly relieve the pressure on GPs.
Conroy concludes “As community pharmacists, we aim to keep people healthy and well at home for as long as possible. We live locally and we get to know entire generations of families, from the cradle to old age and we support many patients with long-term medical conditions. It’s a great privilege to be trusted to look after people in our local community. Ask Your Pharmacy Week gives us a welcome opportunity to remind people of the clinical health expertise right on their doorstep. We would encourage people to make us a natural first port of call for expert healthcare advice."
