NHS England to allow pharmacies to prescribe most common medications

2 mins read

Thursday 25 May 2023

Tags: medications, pharmacies, primary care, nhs england, healthcare

NHS England has unveiled plans to make it easier for families to get medications from pharmacies without seeing a GP.

Under the plans, pharmacists will be able to prescribe medications, including antibiotics, for seven common ailments. These are:

• Earache.
• Sore throats.
• Urinary tract infections.
• Infected insect bites.
• Sinusitis.
• Impetigo.
• Shingles.

More people will be able to self-refer for physiotherapy, podiatry and hearing tests and women will be able to get oral contraceptives without seeing a nurse or GP.

The proposals form part of NHS England’s Delivery plan for recovering access to primary care, which includes £240m funding for GPs to make technological improvements.

Some changes could be in place as early as September 2023, subject to negotiations with GP and pharmacy bodies.

Related information

GPs & primary care

Primary care is the local healthcare that we receive from General Practitioner (GP) practices, NHS walk-in centres, dentists, pharmacists and opticians.

Introduction to health services

Find out how healthcare is structured in the four UK nations, how to access services, and where to find out more about health and wellbeing services.

The flu vaccine

Questions and answers about getting a flu vaccination to address concerns parents have raised with us.

Share

• Copy URL
  Copied!
• Share via Email
• Share via Facebook
• Share via Twitter
• Share via WhatsApp
• Share via LinkedIn