Pharmacy

How your community pharmacy can help

Your community pharmacy can support you with:

• treatment
• medication
• advice

See the NHS Ayrshire & Arran section of the Community Pharmacy website for more details of local services.

Treatment and medication

Your local community pharmacy team can answer questions on choosing and using the right medicine.

They can provide advice on treating:

• minor illnesses and everyday ailments, such as coughs, colds and flu
• a wide range of conditions, such as acne, cold sores, impetigo, skin infections, shingles and earache
• clinical conditions such as urinary tract infections

They can also:

• prescribe medication for you following a consultation, and advise on the best way to take medicines
• provide contraception advice and supply emergency hormonal contraception (the morning after pill)
• dispense prescriptions, including some repeat prescriptions when your GP is unavailable

Your community pharmacy holds records of your medicines, to ensure that the safety of any future medication is checked.

Advice and support

A community pharmacist can provide advice and support.

This includes:

• giving advice on diet and exercise
• offering support and (where appropriate) prescribing nicotine replacement therapy or varenicline to those giving up smoking
• providing a private area to discuss sensitive issues, or giving advice over the telephone

Other services

Many pharmacies also offer:

• advice on travel health
• collection and delivery of prescriptions
• supervised methadone supply
• needle exchange

Repeat prescription collection

NHS Ayrshire & Arran has moved to a standardised time frame for ordering repeat prescriptions.

This seven day turnaround allows our teams to carry out checks, which help us to ensure that your medicine is appropriate and safe for you.

When ordering your repeat prescription, please:

• allow seven days between ordering and collecting your medication at your community pharmacy
• order all of your required prescriptions at once

If you are on regular medication for a long term condition, ask your GP practice or community pharmacy if a serial (longer term) prescription would be suitable for you.

Right care, right place

Whatever your healthcare needs, we want to make sure you know where to turn. NHS Ayrshire & Arran offers a range of services to help you get the care you need:

• quickly and safely
• as close to home as possible

See our Right care, right place section to find out about the services available.

Pharmacy directorate

See the sections below for information on the work of the Pharmacy directorate.