Patients in the West Midlands will be able to get treatment for seven common conditions at their high street pharmacy from today without needing to see a GP, as part of a major transformation in the way the NHS delivers care.

More than 95% of community pharmacies in the West Midlands will be offering the ground-breaking initiative, with the health service making it easier and more convenient for people to access care.

Highly trained pharmacists will be able to assess and treat patients for sinusitis, sore throat, earache, infected insect bite, impetigo, shingles, and uncomplicated urinary tract infections in women (under the age of 65) without the need for an appointment or prescription.

The major expansion of pharmacy services will give the public more choice in where and how they access care, aiming to free up 10 million GP appointments a year.

Clare Boothman, of Stone Pharmacy in Staffordshire said: “We started to offer similar services last year and run appointments every day. We are regularly fully booked but still have capacity for walk in appointments and these are very popular as people have access to a service they value, and which is usually on the same day.”

Two of Clare’s customers are Deborah Holdham and Mandy Southern.

Deborah Holdham is 49 and lives in Stone. She says: “I had quite a bit of discomfort and suspected I had a water infection, so got in touch with my GP. I really wanted an appointment to see the doctor and was quite sceptical when I was told I could be referred to see the pharmacist.

“In fact after I had completed the online consultation form, I was given an appointment that afternoon and saw the pharmacist in the private consultation room. After assessment, I was given a short course of antibiotics, and I am delighted to say I now feel much better. I hope I am not ill again soon, but would not hesitate to take a pharmacist referral if I am.”

Mandy Southern’s four year old son Arlo had a cough and cold as well as a sore on his lip. “I was concerned what the sore was, and contacted the GP surgery who thought it was a cold sore, and suggested we go to the pharmacy for cream.

“I popped into Stone Pharmacy with Arlo and they booked me in for a consultation with the pharmacist. They took a close look at Arlo’s mouth and said it was impetigo which is very infectious. I am grateful to them for spotting it as my mother in law had just finished chemotherapy and I wouldn’t have liked her to be exposed to it.”

(Staff at Shelley’s Pharmacy, Birmingham)

Muhammad Zaheer, pharmacist at Shelley’s Pharmacy in Yardley Green Road in Bordesley Green, Birmingham said: “We are preparing a second consultation room especially for the new service as we are confident this is going to be very popular with local people.

“We have good relationships with local practices and already get very many referrals from them each month to see people with minor health problems. This means people are seen quickly and sometimes more locally for them.”

Julie, a woman from Birmingham has a history of urinary tract infections, and has previously gone to walk in services to get treatment. This time she visited Shelley’s Pharmacy in Bordesley Green instead and got the same treatment within ten minutes following consultation with pharmacist Muhammad Zaheer. “In 10 minutes I had the same treatment which was far less time consuming and was just as effective.

The scheme is part of the NHS and government’s primary care access recovery plan, which committed to making accessing healthcare easier for millions of people.

Amanda Pritchard, NHS chief executive, said: “GPs are already treating millions more people every month than before the pandemic, but with an ageing population and growing demand, we know the NHS needs to give people more choice and make accessing care as easy as possible.

“People across England rightly value the support they receive from their high street pharmacist, and with eight in ten living within a 20-minute walk of a pharmacy and twice as many pharmacies in areas of deprivation, they are the perfect spot to offer people convenient care for common conditions.

“This is great news for patients – from today you can pop into one of more than 10,000 high street pharmacies in England to get a consultation on seven common conditions including ear-ache, a sore throat or sinusitis at a convenient time, with many pharmacies open late into the evening.

“This is all part of major transformation in the way the NHS delivers care, with the health service determined to giving people more choice in how they can access treatment.”

Community pharmacies already play a vital role in keeping their local communities healthy and well. And Pharmacists are now ramping up the number of life-saving blood pressure checks given to at-risk patients over the next year with a commitment to deliver 2.5 million a year by Spring 2025 – up from 900,000 carried out in 2022. It is estimated this could prevent more than 1,350 heart attacks and strokes in the first year.

It builds on the successful expansion of the contraceptive pill service in December 2023, with almost 5,000 pharmacies in England now offering women the chance to get a supply of oral contraception over the counter from their pharmacy without needing to first see their GP.