A Minor Ailment Scheme is a service provided by pharmacies for the National Health Service, first established in England in 2008.
Treatment is provided for conditions such as acute coughs, diarrhoea, earache and simple eczema in children. It is designed to enable people with minor health conditions to access medicines and advice they would otherwise visit their doctor for. [1]
The Minor Ailment Service was introduced by NHS Scotland covering all pharmacies in 2006, but was available only to “people who meet certain age, health, and social criteria” - under-16s, under-19s in full-time education, over-60s, individuals on Jobseeker's Allowance and asylum seekers - about 60% of the Scottish population. In September 2018 it was announced that the scheme would be redesigned and extended to the whole population. [2] Almost 90% of patients surveyed on their use of the scheme said their consultation experience was “excellent”. 29% of consultations were for treatment of an allergy, 16% for skin conditions, 11% for gastrointestinal issues, 10% for infections, 8% for respiratory problems and 7% for musculoskeletal pain. [3]
The scheme is to be replaced by the NHS Pharmacy First scheme in July 2020. [4]
In Northern Ireland, the scheme cost £6,366,089 for medicines supplied, and £7,830,424 for fees paid to community pharmacies providing the service from 2013 to 2017. The largest amount, £1,201,495, was spent on Hedrin lotion for the treatment of head lice. [5]
In England, these services were commissioned by individual Clinical Commissioning Groups. Schemes varied. Prescriptions are only provided free of charge if the patient is exempt from paying prescription charges. The Derbyshire Joint Area Prescribing Committee announced in June 2018 that it was decommissioning its scheme, called Pharmacy First, on which they had spent £3 million in 2015/2016, much of it on over-the-counter medicines, which do not need a prescription, and which came within the scope of NHS England's blacklist. [6] In the same month Dudley CCG established a new Pharmacy First with 43 participating pharmacies. [7] 23 schemes in England were decommissioned between 2015 and 2018 and a scheme covering 14 London boroughs will shut in March 2019 leaving schemes operating in only 43% of areas. The median annual spend per scheme is £86,837. [8] A new scheme exclusively for people who are “socially vulnerable” is being planned for London, but it is not yet clear who will be eligible. [9]
The Irish Pharmacy Union is campaigning in 2022 for a Community Pharmacy-based Triage Programme which would include a Minor Ailment Scheme, use of Emergency Medicines, and Minor Injuries. [10]
A prescription drug is a pharmaceutical drug that is permitted to be dispensed only to those with a medical prescription. In contrast, over-the-counter drugs can be obtained without a prescription. The reason for this difference in substance control is the potential scope of misuse, from drug abuse to practicing medicine without a license and without sufficient education. Different jurisdictions have different definitions of what constitutes a prescription drug.
General practice is personal, family, and community-orientated comprehensive primary care that includes diagnosis, continues over time and is anticipatory as well as responsive.
The NHS Electronic Prescription Service is part of the NHS National Programme for IT of the National Health Service in England. It enables the electronic transfer of medical prescriptions from doctors to pharmacies and other dispensers and electronic notification to the reimbursement agency, NHS Prescription Services.
NHS Scotland, sometimes styled NHSScotland, is the publicly–funded healthcare system in Scotland and one of the four systems that make up the National Health Service in the United Kingdom. It operates 14 territorial NHS boards across Scotland, supported by seven special non-geographic health boards, and Public Health Scotland.
An online pharmacy, internet pharmacy, or mail-order pharmacy is a pharmacy that operates over the Internet and sends orders to customers through mail, shipping companies, or online pharmacy web portal.
The NHS treatments blacklist is an informal name for a list of medicines and procedures which will not be funded by public money except in exceptional cases. These include but are not limited to procedures which the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has ruled of limited effectiveness and particular brand name medicines. In 2017 there was a proposal for 3,200 over-the-counter (OTC) drugs to be restricted and 18 procedures to be added to the list. This generated some controversy amongst doctors with some arguing that OTC should be blacklisted instead, and others believing the move did not take into account individual patient needs.
Charges for prescriptions for medicines and some medical appliances are payable by adults in England under the age of 60. However, people may be exempt from charges in various exemption categories. Charges were abolished by NHS Wales in 2007, Health and Social Care in Northern Ireland in 2010 and by NHS Scotland in 2011. In 2010/11, in England, £450 million was raised through these charges, some 0.5% of the total NHS budget. In April 2021 the charge was raised to £9.35 for up to a three-month supply of each item. In 2022, for the first time since 2010, the charge was not increased.
Healthcare in the United Kingdom is a devolved matter, with England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales each having their own systems of publicly funded healthcare, funded by and accountable to separate governments and parliaments, together with smaller private sector and voluntary provision. As a result of each country having different policies and priorities, a variety of differences have developed between these systems since devolution.
The Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC) is recognised by the UK Secretary of State for Health as representative of community pharmacy on National Health Service matters. The PSNC's main objective is to secure the best possible remuneration, terms and conditions for NHS pharmacy contractors in England. Much of the PSNC’s work involves discussions and negotiations with the Department of Health. Community Pharmacy Wales is a related organisation. Most of the English national pharmacy contract negotiated by PSNC has been adopted by the Welsh Assembly Government, but Community Pharmacy Wales has negotiated some local variation.
A pharmacy is a premises which provides pharmaceutical drugs, among other products. At the pharmacy, a pharmacist oversees the fulfillment of medical prescriptions and is available to counsel patients about prescription and over-the-counter drugs or about health problems and wellness issues. A typical pharmacy would be in the commercial area of a community.
Healthcare in Wales is mainly provided by the Welsh public health service, NHS Wales. NHS Wales provides healthcare to all permanent residents that is free at the point of need and paid for from general taxation. Health is a matter that is devolved, and considerable differences are now developing between the public healthcare systems in the different countries of the United Kingdom, collectively the National Health Service (NHS). Though the public system dominates healthcare provision, private health care and a wide variety of alternative and complementary treatments are available for those willing to pay.
A formulary is a list of pharmaceutical drugs, often decided upon by a group of people, for various reasons such as insurance coverage or use at a medical facility. Traditionally, a formulary contained a collection of formulas for the compounding and testing of medication. Today, the main function of a prescription formulary is to specify particular medications that are approved to be prescribed at a particular hospital, in a particular health system, or under a particular health insurance policy. The development of prescription formularies is based on evaluations of efficacy, safety, and cost-effectiveness of drugs.
Well, formerly known as The Co-operative Pharmacy, is the second largest overall pharmacy chain after the company Boots in the United Kingdom. It is the largest pharmacy chain in Wales.
Online doctor is a term that emerged during the 2000s, used by both the media and academics, to describe a generation of physicians and health practitioners who deliver healthcare, including drug prescription, over the internet.
Pharmacy2U is a British online pharmacy company, which manages NHS repeat prescriptions on behalf of patients.
Dr. Fox is an online clinic launched in January 2010 by Tony Steele and Dan Broughton. The service is owned by Index Medical Ltd and was the first UK online consultation service to allow patients to check their eligibility for treatment without first completing a registration process.
Healthcare in Worcestershire was the responsibility of three Clinical Commissioning Groups until July 2022, covering, respectively Redditch and Bromsgrove, Wyre Forest and South Worcestershire.
The National Health Service Central Register (NHSCR) is a Scottish Government database accessible to public bodies approved by the Scottish Parliament. The register was established in the early 1950s to facilitate the transfer of patients between Health Board areas or across borders within the countries of the United Kingdom. However, its role has expanded over the decades and it now also provides Scottish local authorities with a Unique Citizen Reference Number or UCRN used to identify people on their own databases.
Pharmacy in the United Kingdom has been an integral part of the National Health Service since it was established in 1948. Unlike the rest of the NHS, pharmacies are largely privately provided apart from those in hospitals, and even these are now often privately run.
Healthcare in Derbyshire was the responsibility of five clinical commissioning groups covering North Derbyshire, Southern Derbyshire, Erewash, Hardwick, and Tameside and Glossop. North Derbyshire, Southern Derbyshire, Erewash and Hardwick announced in November 2018 that they planned to merge.