Pharmacy First

Pharmacy First is a walk-in service. There is no appointment to book, no referral to chase, no registration form and no need to be registered with a GP practice or to live in Harrow. Come to the counter at 160 Pinner Road, say you would like a Pharmacy First consultation and tell us briefly what is wrong. If a pharmacist is free you are normally seen within a few minutes. If we are part-way through checking a prescription you may be asked to wait, or to come back at a quieter time the same day.

We are open Monday to Friday 9am to 6pm and Saturday 9am to 1pm, and closed on Sunday. Mid-morning and mid-afternoon are usually the quietest; lunchtime and the last hour before we close are the busiest. If you are travelling any distance, ring 020 8863 6338 first and we will tell you how long the wait is, or book an appointment if you would rather have a fixed time.

Our chemist sits on Pinner Road between North Harrow and Harrow town centre, which is why so many of these consultations happen on the way home from work or on the school run. We see parents who have walked over from West Harrow with a child's earache, people who have come down from Pinner because their surgery had nothing free until the following week, and plenty from Harrow town centre who simply did not want to spend a morning on hold to a receptionist.

Same-day treatment is the whole point of the service. Where the NHS clinical pathway allows it, our pharmacist can supply a prescription-only medicine, including an antibiotic or an antiviral, and you leave with it in your hand. The consultation is free on the NHS. If you are supplied a medicine you pay the standard NHS prescription charge unless you are exempt, exactly as you would for anything a GP prescribed.

The consultation takes place in our private consultation room with the door shut, not across the counter. Nobody in the queue hears what you say, which matters as much for a urinary tract infection as it does for a rash you would rather not show the shop.

Our pharmacist follows the NHS clinical pathway written for your condition. That means a structured set of questions about your symptoms, how long you have had them and how severe they are, plus your medical history, allergies, current medicines and whether you are pregnant or breastfeeding. Where the pathway calls for it we examine you: looking into an ear with an otoscope for earache, at the back of a throat for tonsillitis, or at the pattern and location of a rash for shingles or impetigo. Most consultations take ten to fifteen minutes.

There are three possible outcomes. You may be given self-care advice and nothing more, because many of these infections settle on their own and the pathways are deliberately cautious about antibiotics. You may be supplied a prescription-only medicine. Or you may be referred on. Being told you do not need an antibiotic is a good result rather than a wasted trip, and we will tell you what to use instead and how long it should take to improve.

Whatever the outcome, you get safety-netting advice before you leave: what should get better, by when, and the specific signs that mean you should come back or seek urgent help the same day. A record of the consultation is sent to your GP practice, so it appears in your notes even though you never saw a doctor.

Bring your name, date of birth, address and the name of your GP practice. Your NHS number speeds things up if you have it to hand, but it is not essential and we will not ask for ID or proof of address.

Bring a list of everything you take, including things you buy over the counter, herbal remedies, supplements and the contraceptive pill, and tell us about any allergies, particularly to penicillin. If you have already tried something for this, say what and for how long. If you have had antibiotics in the last few months, mention it, because that changes what is likely to work.

For a child, the child has to come with you. We cannot assess an earache from a parent's description, because the pathway requires the pharmacist to look. Bring their date of birth, and their weight if you know it, since doses for children are worked out by age and weight.

Tell us if you are pregnant, might be pregnant, or are breastfeeding, and if you have a long-term condition such as kidney disease or a weakened immune system. These change what can safely be supplied and sometimes mean a referral instead of treatment. If you wear contact lenses, use a regular inhaler, or take a blood thinner, mention that too.

Seven conditions are covered: sinusitis, sore throat, earache, infected insect bites, impetigo, shingles and uncomplicated urinary tract infections in women. Each has its own NHS age criteria and they differ sharply — earache is a children's pathway, while shingles is for adults only. Check our full guide to Pharmacy First and the seven conditions for the age criteria in full before you set off, especially if the patient is very young or you are unsure.

Pharmacy First also covers two things people forget about. Your GP practice, NHS 111 or 999 can refer you to us for a minor illness consultation that falls outside the seven pathways. And if you have run out of a regular medicine, NHS 111 or your GP can refer you to us for an urgent supply, so speak to someone before you go without a dose.

If your symptoms fall outside the pathways, if you are outside the age range for that condition, or if something we find concerns us, we do not simply send you away. We refer you to your GP practice or NHS 111 the same day and tell you exactly what to ask for. Some things need urgent care rather than a pharmacy: difficulty breathing or swallowing, a stiff neck with a headache and a rash, confusion, severe abdominal or back pain with a fever, or a rash that is spreading fast.

When we do supply a medicine it is dispensed here, so there is no second trip. If you would like every future prescription to come to us automatically, nominate us as your pharmacy and your GP will send repeats through NHS prescriptions. For anything we have not covered, contact us on 020 8863 6338.