Services Database NHS Digital Minor Illness Referral Service (DMIRS) (Across the East Midlands – 5 LPCs Involved)

Please note this service is commissioned across London by NHS England Midlands and East. Therefore, the following LPCs have the same service in their areas:

• Derbyshire LPC
• Leicestershire & Rutland LPC
• Lincolnshire LPC
• Northamptonshire & Milton Keynes LPC
• Nottinghamshire LPC

The purpose of the Digital Minor Illness Referral Service (DMIRS) is to reduce the burden on urgent and emergency care services by referring patients requiring low acuity advice and treatment from NHS 111 to community pharmacy. Its aim is to ensure that patients have access to the same if not better levels of care, closer to home and with a self-care emphasis.

The purpose of this service is for the pharmacy to provide self-care advice and support, including printed information, to all individuals referred to the pharmacy by NHS 111 on the management of specified low acuity conditions.

Only patients who have called NHS111 and been referred are eligible to receive advice and treatment under this service. Any patient, even those registered with a GP from outside the Devon area, can access DMIRS as they would likely still have attended another care location in the area.

This service has only been added to the Community Pharmacy England Services Database under this entry to avoid duplication. 

The necessary knowledge and skills to provide the service will already be a core competency for all pharmacists, but pharmacists will want to ensure they have an up to date understanding of the Service Specification and it is recommended that they watch the DMIRS video which can be found on the LPC website and the locally commissioned IT provider platform.
Digital Minor Illness Referral Service (DMIRS) training animation
A training animation has been developed for NHS 111 call advisors and pharmacy teams to describe the Digital Minor Illness Referral Service (DMIRS) and to describe the patient journey through the service.