A pharmacy in Broadstairs is offering a new consultation and prescription writing service.
Pierremont Pharmacy in the High Street, which celebrates its 10th anniversary on Friday, now has a qualified prescriber on-site.
Independent pharmacist Peter Bettles, who has worked at Pierremont for three years, took the eight-month masters qualification at the University of Greenwich, completing it last Summer.
The qualification is in addition to his four-year pharmacy degree and means he now has the authority to prescribe most drugs.
The idea is to provide a service where people can have a consultation and if a prescription is needed Peter can issue it.
Presently Peter is able to do this for those needing warfarin as part of the pharmacy’s clinic on the NHS but other drugs are not funded through an NHS budget and so the prescription offer is a private service.
The consultation costs £15 and if a prescription is issued the client will need to pay the charges for the drugs.
Peter said: “People are used to the NHS covering everything but it is becoming more and more difficult to access those free services.
“If people have a condition that requires treatment and are struggling to see a doctor I am in a position to safely prescribe for them.
“I can refer people to the doctor if I am not confident that I can safely help them but if I can I will.”
Peter says he will have a chat with a client over the phone or at the counter first to make sure a consultation is suitable.
If he feels someone needs to see a doctor he will refer them.
Peter, who worked for chemists including Boots and Alliance before coming to Pierremont, says it is one of the innovative services he can be involved with because Pierremont is an independent business.
Mole screening service
Another new offering is a mole screening service done in partnership with ScreenCancer which provides expert dermatologists who will analyse the results.
Peter said: “We do not make judgements. We do the service and the images produced by the scan give a lot of detail to the consultant who will give a very accurate account of what is going on.”
Consultation
£15 fee including private prescription if necessary, plus the cost of drugs prescribed
Suitable for:
Adult patients with conditions including infection of eyes, urinary tract, nose, throat, chest and skin
Pierremont Pharmacy’
73-75 High Street, Broadstairs
01843 600309