Check your blood pressure

The only way of knowing whether you have high blood pressure is to have a blood pressure test.

All adults over 40 are advised to have their blood pressure checked at least every 5 years. Getting this done is easy and could save your life.

You can get your blood pressure tested at a number of places, including at our pharmacies. If you've not been diagnosed with high blood pressure and would like to get yours checked, contact or visit one of our branches. 

If we find any potential signs of high blood pressure, we will refer you to your GP for further investigation and treatment if appropriate.

Cholesterol Testing

Inhaler Technique Service

It is important that you take the right dose of your prescribed medicines at the right time each day to get the most from your medicines to control your condition(s) as much as possible. This can sometimes be difficult if you take more than one medicine. One way in which this can be made easier is for your medicines to be supplied in a Monitored Dosage System, which provides you with a separate compartment for each dosage time of the day.

A monitored dosage system (MDS) is a medication storage device designed to simplify the administration of solid oral dose medication, especially for those on multiple medications. It aims to address the issues of difficulty accessing medication due to sight impairment or other disability and/or forgetfulness.

MDS devices are usually a variation on the design of a box or a blister pack, divided into days of the week with several compartments per day to allow for the different timing of doses such as breakfast, lunch, dinner and bedtime.

 Our Pharmacist can help identify which patients this type of system would be suitable for.

MDS may be suitable for patients in the following circumstances:

• You struggle to organise medications and find it difficult to remember to take them at the correct time each day
• You have a large number of medications to take each day
• You find it difficult to remove medication from its packaging
• You have a carer who helps you to ensure you take your medicines correctly.
  

Ask a member of our pharmacy team about whether this service would benefit you or whether there is another course of action, which may be of more help.

You can have a free NHS flu Jab at our pharmacy:
• If you are 65 years of age or over before 31 March 2025
• If you are pregnant
• If you are a carer

If you have certain medical conditions including:
• Asthma
• Chronic Respiratory Disease
• Heart Disease
• Diabetes
• Kidney Disease
• Liver Disease
• Neurological Disease

We provide a needle exchange service where intravenous drug users can obtain clean  sterile needles and syringes and safely dispose of used needles and syringes.

This service is designed to prevent people sharing or re using needles.  It also reduces drug related harm and the transmission of blood borne bacterial and viral infections such as hepatitis B and C or HIV.

The service is lead by our Pharmacist in a non-judgemental manner and may lead to the user being referred to an appropriate drug treatment programme i.e. opioid substitute treatment in order to stop drug usage .  Our Pharmacist can also advise on minimising the harms caused by drugs and suggest further support and help.

We provide a palliative care service.  Palliative care drugs can sometimes be required quickly and this service ensures that there is appropriate access to a range of palliative care drugs, particularly outside of normal opening hours, and when treatment is needed urgently.

Many of the drugs used in palliative care are not usually used for other conditions and are often not stocked in community pharmacies.  As a  palliative care service provider we hold a stock of palliative care drugs for when needed right away.  The service is suitable for patients receiving palliative care and those providing their care.

We recommend you consider getting a flub jab If you don't qualify for an NHS vaccination but are:

• susceptible to colds and chest infections
• are self employed and unable to afford time off work
• would like to protect yourself from flu during peak season

This service is available on a walk in basis without an appointment and there is a charge of £19.95 but please call the pharmacy first.

Supervised Methadone