Published on: 5 November 2025
This week (3-9 November) is Ask Your Pharmacist Week- an opportunity to remind everyone that your local pharmacy is not just a place to pick up prescriptions, but a vital part of the NHS offering accessible clinical care close to home.
Pharmacies across Herefordshire and Worcestershire deliver a range of NHS-services, often with no appointment needed. By using your pharmacy for the right issues, you support faster access to care and help ease workloads across the health system.
Here are some of the services already making a big difference locally:
Pharmacy First: Offers assessment and self-care advice and treatment for minor ailments, while providing clinical assessment and prescription treatment for 7 conditions named, often without needing a GP appointment. The 7 conditions are listed below.
- earache (aged 1 to 17 years)
- impetigo (aged 1 year and over)
- infected insect bites (aged 1 year and over)
- shingles (aged 18 years and over)
- sinusitis (aged 12 years and over)
- sore throat (aged 5 years and over)
- urinary tract infections or UTIs (women aged 16 to 64 years)
Oral Contraception Service: As well as a comprehensive contraception service, women also are able to access the morning-after pill free of charge on the NHS in high-street pharmacies across Herefordshire and Worcestershire. In the “biggest change to sexual health services since the 1960s”, the oral emergency contraception pill has been made available for free from October 2025 at pharmacies across the two counties without needing to see their GP or get an appointment at a sexual health clinic.
Blood Pressure Checks: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is one of the leading causes of premature death in England. Early detection of elevated blood pressure is vital, allowing diagnosis and treatment thus preventing risks of strokes and heart attacks. That’s why pharmacies across the two counties offer free blood pressure checks to anyone who’s 40 years old or over.
Vaccinations: Local community pharmacies offer vaccinations for Flu and Covid for those who qualify. This includes flu vaccinations for toddlers aged 2-3 years old at selected pharmacies across the two counties.
There are many other benefits to using this fantastic healthcare service. So if you have a question about your wellbeing, and it’s not a life-threatening situation, you don’t always have to head to the doctors. You could ask your Pharmacy instead.
Siobhan Hemans, Pharmacy Integration Lead at NHS Herefordshire and Worcestershire, says: “Ask Your Pharmacist Week recognises the increasingly important part pharmacies play within the NHS family. “They are located in the heart of our communities, making them easily accessible and convenient. They are open at times to suit busy modern lifestyles, often allowing patients to be seen quicker by a highly trained healthcare professional. Whether you need advice or a prescription medicine, Pharmacists can help with an array of ailments, often saving you the need to make a GP appointment.”
