A pharmacist is another health expert you can turn to for asthma advice and support and you usually don't need an appointment. As well as your GP or asthma nurse, your local pharmacist is another highly trained healthcare professional who can answer questions about your asthma. If you have any concerns about your asthma, you can just walk into our pharmacy and ask to see the pharmacist.

This is useful because:

• you don't need an appointment
• our pharmacy are open outside GP surgery hours
• our pharmacy have a private consultation room
• you can ask about free prescription collection services, peak flow checks, stop smoking and losing weight advice.

Ask the pharmacist how to get the best from your asthma medicines. You can ask your pharmacist about the asthma medicines you've been prescribed. This is useful if you have concerns about things like side effects, using your inhaler, or your inhaler not working properly.
You can also ask about any over-the-counter medicines you're taking to help your asthma, such as anti-histamines for hay fever.

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.

We provide lateral flow test kits 

No appointments needed, easily accessible location and just a quick consultation, we ensure a hassle free service to all our patients. Simply walk in and ask to speak to our friendly and professional pharmacist about the morning after pill.

Our pharmacist will need to see the person that the emergency contraception is intended for, and will need to ask a few questions regarding the patients’ medical history. This is done in the privacy of our consultation room and everything discussed is in complete confidence. The sooner you come to our pharmacy to take the morning after pill, the greater the chances of avoiding pregnancy.

If the Pharmacist feels like Levonelle One Step is not suitable for you, they will not give you the morning after pill, but advise you to see your health care professional.

We are one of the few pharmacies that are able to provide the morning after pill free of charge to patients who are aged 24 and under, and who meet the NHS criteria. Alternatively, the pill can be purchased privately from our pharmacy.

About Emergency Contraception (Levonelle One Step) -
When it comes to sex, even if you’ve taken precautions, sometimes things don’t quite go to plan. Accidents happen with contraception and things go wrong all the time. You may even just be worried that your contraceptive pill hasn’t worked. If you’ve had unprotected sex or you’re worried about contraception failure, here is some of the information you need to know about Levonelle One Step -

- Levonelle One Step is an emergency contraceptive that can be used within 72 hours (3 days) of unprotected sex or if your contraceptive method has failed.
- There is one white tablet in the pack and it is most effective when taken within the first 12 hours
- The tablet contains a hormone called Levonorgestrel.
- Levonelle One Step is thought to work by stopping your ovaries from releasing an egg or by preventing sperm from fertilising any egg that may have already been released
- If you are over 16 you can get Levonelle One Step over the counter at our Pharmacy
- If you are under 16 you cannot buy Levonelle One Step at the Pharmacy, you need to visit your GP or a Walk-In centre
- Levonelle One Step works to prevent a pregnancy becoming established, it does not work if you are already pregnant
- You should only use Levonelle One Step in emergencies, not as a regular form of contraception

Please note, there are other emergency contraceptive options available through your doctor or at a Walk-In centre.

If you do have any questions or require any further information please do not hesitate to contact us.

Erection problems (impotence) are very common, particularly in men over 40. It's usually nothing to worry about, but you should see a GP if it keeps happening.

Most men occasionally fail to get or keep an erection.  Causes of erection problems can be stress, tiredness, anxiety or drinking too much alcohol, and it's nothing to worry about.

If it happens more often, it may be caused by physical or emotional problems.

Medicine such as sildenafil is often used by doctors to treat erectile dysfunction. It is also available from our pharmacy. You no longer need a prescription to get sildenafil.  You can have a private consultation with our pharmacist to make sure it's safe for you to take it.

Headlice and nits are very common in young children. They don’t have anything to do with dirty hair and are usually picked up from head-to-head contact.

Headlice are small insects, up to 3mm long and can be difficult to spot. Head lice eggs (nits) are yellow, brown or white (empty shells) and are attacked to the hair. Head lice can make your head feel itchy or like something is moving in your hair. The only way to be sure someone has head lice is by finding live lice or eggs. You can do this by combing their hair with a special fine-toothed comb. Our Pharmacist can advise you on the best course of treatment and prevention.

Prescription strength melatonin (Circadin ) to treat jet lag without a prescription

Norethisterone to delay menstruation without seeing the GP

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 50 years of age or over before 31 March 2022
• 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.

Going abroad and need to know which vaccinations you require or need advice on precautions?

We provide travel consultations with experienced staff who will assess the impact of any pre-existing medical conditions on your vaccine requirements. Our competitive pricing and easily accessible location makes us your first choice for all your travel needs

• Expert Travel Consultation
  
• Hajj and Umrah
• Full range of vaccines in stock including ACWY
• Anti-malarials dispensed on site
• Walk In or Book Over the phone
• We offer a wide range of services at competitive prices
• Our friendly team comprises of healthcare experts including pharmacists

Walk in for a free travel health consultation in our designated private consultation rooms today. We look forward to welcoming you and helping you with all your travel healthcare needs.

Altitude Sickness - the mildest form being acute mountain sickness (AMS), is the negative health effect of high altitude, caused by rapid exposure to low amounts of oxygen at high elevation. Symptoms may include headaches, vomiting, tiredness, trouble sleeping, and dizziness.

Cholera – Common in Africa, Central America and Asia, cholera is an infection spread by bacteria in contaminated food and water.

Diphtheria, Poliomyelitis and Tetanus - This diphtheria, polio and tetanus vaccine may also be recommended if you're travelling to an area of the world where there is a high risk of contracting these diseases, or poor access to medical care, and you haven't had a booster in the last ten years.

Hepatitis A – Contaminated faecal matter spreads hepatitis A, a disease often caught via infected food and water and common across in Africa, Asia, the Middle East and South America.

Hepatitis B – Unprotected sex is usually responsible for hepatitis A infection, along with sharing needles, visiting dirty tattoo parlours, unhygienic barbers shops and nail salons. It’s common in both undeveloped and developed countries.

Japanese Encephalitis – Spread by mosquitoes, there’s no cure for this disease found across South East Asia, Japan, and tropical regions of Australia. There are also occasional epidemics in China and India.

Malaria – A highly dangerous disease spread by infected mosquitoes, malaria is common in the equatorial tropics and subtropics.

Meningitis; ACWY Vaccination for Hajj or Umrah – A bacterial infection, this disease tends to be commonest in sub-Saharan Africa. But it’s also sometimes found where it’s crowded and where there’s imperfect hygiene, for example universities and army camps. 

Rabies – Infected animal and human bites and scratches spread this awful disease, which is particularly common in Thailand, Brazil and India.

Tick-borne Encephalitis – A tick-borne virus found in eastern, northern and central Europe as well as eastern Russia, east Asia, China and Japan.

Typhoid – Bacteria are responsible for this infection and it’s found throughout the world, a risk wherever sanitation and hygiene are poor.

We provide a vaccination service and a range of vaccinations are available, please contact the pharmacy for further details.

We can provide consultations via video.

We stock a popular range of vitamins and supplements aimed at nutrition, and women's and men's health.

We are here to help you make good choices. If you are struggling losing weight, please ask the pharmacist to help you beat the bulge.

The term obese describes a person who is very overweight. There are two ways of checking your weight status. Firstly, Body mass index (BMI) is a measure of whether you’re a healthy weight for your height. A BMI of > 25 means you are over-weight.

Another measure of excess fat is your waist circumference. Generally, men with a waist circumference of 94cm or more and women with a waist circumference of 80 cm or more are more likely to develop obesity related health problems. These include

Type 2 diabetes, Coronary heart disease, some types of cancer, such as breast cancer and bowel cancer and stroke. If you are worried about diabetes we can give you a diabetic test.

Obesity can also affect your quality of life and lead to psychological problems such as depression and low self-esteem. Please let us help you before your weight gets out of control.

We can offer weight management help.  Pharmacists are ideally placed to help you manage your weight as they already provide many health services to customers, including stop smoking services, blood pressure and cholesterol measurements and general advice on nutrition and healthy living. Pharmacists also know when a weight problem can be managed in the pharmacy and when there is a medical problem that needs co-operation with the doctor.

Ask us for advice on how to get started.