Pharmacy First Minor Ailments Scheme
Pharmacy First is a scheme to treat common ailments, that operates in participating pharmacies in the area covered by West Birmingham, Dudley, Sandwell, and Wolverhampton . It enables patients to access a free medicines service without having to visit their doctor, Accident and Emergency or the Walk-In centre. There are rules of access, as well as requirements for pharmacies and their pharmacists. The rules are-
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The scheme is available to patients exempt from prescription charges who are registered with a participating General Practice in Dudley, Sandwell & West Birmingham and Wolverhampton CCG areas
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Visits are limited to six times in a twelve-month period
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The scheme is only for the treatment of a current common ailment and not to restock medicines
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The patient will need to attend the pharmacy personally
Attending patients will need to bring their NHS number with them for the scheme to operate. Conditions that can be treated for either under 16 (U16), over 16 (O16), or both include:
| Acute cough | Acute fever (U16) |
Acute Pain/Earache/ Headache/Temperature (O16) |
Athlete’s foot |
| Bacterial conjunctivitis | Bites, stings and allergies | Cold sores | Colds and ‘flu |
| Constipation | Cystitis (O16) | Diarrhoea | Dry skin/simple eczema (U16) |
| Dermatitis/allergic rashes (U16) | Earache | Earwax | Hay fever |
| Haemorrhoids (O16) | Heartburn/indigestion (O16) | Infant decongestion | Mouth ulcers & teething |
| Nappy rash | Scabies | Sore throats (O16) | Sprains & strains ( O16) |
| Sunburn (U16) | Threadworms | Thrush (oral & vaginal) | Verrucas and warts |
Pharmacy addresses in Dudley CCG area are links to NHS Choices webpages for pharmacy times and location (list may not be exhaustive)