NHS makes desperate plea to West Midlands patients as winter pressure bites
People across the West Midlands are being urged to use their pharmacies as GPs and hospitals experience a surge in winter demand.
Pharmacy First was launched in January 2024, enabling people to get advice and treatment for an array of minor illnesses as well as advice about medicines.
It has been credited with saving the NHS thousands in GP hours but bosses said practices as well as hospital A&Es were beginning to see a huge increase in demand.
Jagjeet Sagoo, Group Pharmacy Manager of Pan Pharmacy, which has branches across Birmingham, said they have seen an increase in footfall since January 2024 and urged others to utilise the service.
He said: “Around this time of year, we see sinusitis, sore throats, earache in children and the feedback from patients is this is very accessible.
“That’s the biggest thing pharmacy offers. Doctors and GPs are stretched and are at capacity, especially capacity to see every query that comes in.
“Pharmacies are ideally placed. We’ve gone through five years of training, we know all about medication and how it effects the body.
“The conditions that come in, we are able to assess them and give treatment and it prevents many cases from becoming complex.
“We’re seeing a massive increase in the demand for flu vaccines both privately and NHS as well. Pharmacies will accept a drop in process where people can walk in and get a vaccine there and then.
“We are very accessible over the seasonal period. These services may stop at the surgery, they don’t stop at pharmacies.
“The overall report back from patients is it’s a very accessible service, they are able to get what they need, the right care at a time that suits them.”
Mr Sagoo said health services have welcomed Pharmacy First saying it has freed up capacity for them to see more complex cases.
But when the service was introduced almost two years ago, it was met with some surprise from patients.
He said: “A lot of patients come to us because we’re they’re last resort when in fact we could have seen them as a first resort.
“When they come in and we’ve concluded their consultation and given them their treatment, they are surprised we are able to offer that kind of service for them.
“It’s positive. But we do see a lot of patients unaware of what a pharmacy can provide.
“In the early days of Pharmacy First, there was a lot of stigma around that. There was a lot of ‘I want to see a GP’.
“However, the way GP setting has changed as well. GPs have physios, pharmacies, paramedic prescribers, nurses on site – there is such an array of clinicians in GP settings and that has helped when it comes to pharmacy.
“But when it first started it was a big shock to patients as they didn’t know what pharmacy had to offer so it’s taken a bit of barrier breaking to break into that.”
While attitudes towards Pharmacy First have changed, Mr Sagoo said it was important to keep on educating patients.
He said: “If people don’t know, they won’t know where to go. We see patients from very deprived backgrounds and they feel there is no support for them.
“They ring the surgery and can’t get an appointment because they are at capacity and they don’t know where to turn to.
“Sometimes, it needs to be highlighted they can visit their pharmacy as we might be able to help. Especially over the winter period.
“Illnesses going untreated, even though they might start minor, can very quickly turn if they are not treated promptly and appropriately.”
