NHS24: Think pharmacy first this winter

NHS24 is urging the public to include their health in festive preparations to make sure they can deal with minor illnesses quickly and easily.

A few simple steps mean that people can avoid the need to seek medical help over the holidays, leaving them to enjoy the festivities. The advice is being offered as part of the national ‘Be Health-Wise this Winter’ campaign which was launched today by the Cabinet Secretary for Health, Jeane Freeman MSP.

The Minister visited a community pharmacy in Ayrshire to highlight the importance of being prepared for seasonal illnesses by having cold and flu remedies at home, checking any repeat prescriptions and knowing their GP surgery opening hours over the festive holidays, can help people to avoid or deal with the most common winter ailments.

Importantly, people are being encouraged to think about accessing local services such as community pharmacy which can often mean they have more walk-in access to the advice and care they need.

Ms Freeman said: “I am delighted to be launching the Be-Health-Wise This Winter campaign today within a pharmacy. Community pharmacies are a great place to go to for minor ailments and illnesses, and for health and medicines advice.

“I would urge everyone to begin to plan ahead for winter by making sure you have enough medicines to treat common conditions at home. If you’re not sure what you need then a pharmacy like this one we’re in today can help with advice and can also deal with minor ailments. It is also important to check your GP surgery and pharmacy opening times, which can vary over the holidays.”

NHS 24’s Head of Pharmacy, John McAnaw, joined the Minister to launch the national campaign. John said: “NHS 24’s 111 service gets a lot of pharmacy calls and, of those taken over the festive period last year, 68% were about repeat prescriptions.

“Being organised and ordering absolutely only what you need will reduce the chance of you needing to make a call to us, leaving you more time to make the most of the holidays with your family.”

The Be Health-Wise campaign is delivered by NHS 24 on behalf of NHSScotland in partnership with NHS 24, the Scottish Ambulance Service and all 14 Scottish territorial health boards.

General advice and information on how to stay healthy this winter, including self-help guides, can be found at www.nhsinform.scot or contact NHS inform on 0800 22 44 88.