If you have used a pharmacy in the past year, we want to find out how you rate their newly expanded range of services.
Since January 31 2024, community pharmacies have been able to treat referred patients for minor illnesses or for an urgent repeat medicine supply.
The Pharmacy First service enables patients to be referred into community pharmacy for a minor illness or an urgent repeat medicine supply. It enables community pharmacies to complete episodes of care for the following seven common conditions following defined clinical pathways:
- Acute otitis media – one to 17 years
- Impetigo – one year and over
- Infected insect bites – one year and over
- Shingles – 18 years and over
- Sinusitis – 12 years and over
- Sore throat – five years and over
- Uncomplicated urinary tract infections – women 16 to 64 years
Healthwatch South Tyneside wants to understand how well this change to service delivery is working and support communication to our communities to ensure they are getting the best service
available.
We have published an online survey to understand:
- The experiences of those who have used the new service.
- The impact upon pharmacies.
- The impact upon general practice.
We also want to obtain feedback from those needing prescriptions, especially those who face challenges in their daily environment such as those with a disability or lack of access to their own transport.
The Healthwatch team will additionally visit pharmacies to review how they are approaching and delivering the new service, including promotion of the service to those who may need it. We’ll also share the survey through our existing monthly information stalls as well as focus groups to gather feedback from our communities.
Key areas of focus
In order to reach ‘seldom heard’ communities including the elderly and those with a disability, we will prioritise gaining insights from community groups to identify gaps in data and knowledge.
We will collaborate with the ‘A Better You’ network and South Tyneside’s Local Pharmacy Network to aid our understanding of the impact on health care professionals and the services they are delivering.
How to take part
You can complete the survey online here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZXRBJSJ
If you would prefer a hard copy please contact us by emailing info@healthwatchsouthtyneside.co.uk or calling 0191 489 7952.
