This year’s theme is ‘Professional and convenient healthcare, from your local pharmacy team’.

Community Pharmacies in Lincolnshire provide a wide range of healthcare services such as:

Pharmacy First Service

Pharmacy First service offers assessment and prescription treatment for 7 conditions:

• earache (aged 1 to 17 years)
• impetigo (aged 1 year and over)
• infected insect bites (aged 1 year and over)
• shingles (aged 18 years and over)
• sinusitis (aged 12 years and over)
• sore throat (aged 5 years and over)
• urinary tract infections or UTIs (women aged 16 to 64 years)

Since the launch of the Pharmacy First service on the 31^st January 2024, community pharmacies in Lincolnshire have provided:

• 15,656 consultations for pharmacy first clinical pathways, providing professional and convenient care to the Lincolnshire population presenting with the 7 conditions listed above.
• 6,649 consultations for minor illness conditions such as coughs, colds, and hay fever.

Testimonials from two Lincolnshire residents on the Pharmacy first service:

“Luckily there was no queue, and the pharmacist was available, knowledgeable and helpful”.

“The pharmacist knew what was best and not necessarily the dearest explained everything you needed to know”.

Blood pressure check service

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is one of the leading causes of premature death in England. Early detection of elevated blood pressure is vital, allowing diagnosis and treatment thus preventing risks of strokes and heart attacks. Find a pharmacy that offers free blood pressure checks – NHS (www.nhs.uk)

From April until September 2024, Community pharmacies across Lincolnshire have provided:

• 16,000 free blood pressure (BP) monitoring and
• 1,160 ambulatory blood pressure monitoring *method used to measure blood pressure on a continuous basis either during waking hours or for 24 hours.

“They possibly saved my life via the free BP monitoring. It was verbally offered, and I accepted on a whim, I was sent to A+E as it was so high. I am now medicated and BP under control. I will be forever grateful”. Testimonial from Lincolnshire resident on BP check service.

Oral Contraception Service

NHS community pharmacies are an accessible and convenient place for people to receive advice and support for contraception management. Participating community pharmacies in Lincolnshire offer the ORAL contraceptive pill without a prescription. Find a pharmacy that offers the contraceptive pill without a prescription – NHS (www.nhs.uk)

Between April and September 2024, community pharmacies across Lincolnshire have provided:

• 800 consultations offering continued oral contraception.
• 160 consultations starting patients on oral contraception.

Vaccinations

From 1st October to 1st November, community pharmacies in Lincolnshire have provided 18,000 flu vaccinations. Selected local pharmacies are also providing Covid-19 vaccinations to eligible patients.

Community Pharmacy provide a uniquely accessible workforce of health care professionals, who are trained and qualified to help you with a wide range of conditions. With a busy winter for the NHS ahead, the Lincolnshire ICB would encourage people to ‘ask your pharmacist’ for expert advice on minor illness conditions or medicine.