Pharmacy Services

We dispense NHS & Private prescriptions and will advice on how to get the most benefit from your medicines. Our pharmacists are always at hand to deliver a direct service to customers including a chat while handing out prescriptions to the customer. If you want some privacy, we have a Consultation Room which will be made available for you immediately.

We keep a comprehensive stock of medicines and use a fast and efficient wholesaler service to enable us to fill all prescriptions promptly.

Appliance dispensing is similar to prescription dispensing; it allows a local pharmacy to dispense several products and items to patients that are required for the management of their condition.

Appliance dispensing includes products like Stoma pouches, Catheter bag, Compression bandages, hosiery, etc.

Make life easier for yourself and let us order your prescription on your behalf. Simply let us know what repeat medicines you need, a few days before they run out, either in person, by phone, email, or via this website and we will arrange to collect the prescription from your Doctor’s surgery.

We go daily to all the Doctors’ surgeries in our area. There is Electronic Prescription Service (EPS) which can save your time by having your GP send your prescriptions electronically (safely and securely) to our pharmacy (if you nominate this pharmacy to be your preference). This means you’ll no longer have to collect a paper repeat prescription from your GP practice – instead, you can go straight to our pharmacy to pick up your prescription when they are ready. We also provide local home delivery service if requested.

If you find it difficult to get to the pharmacy and you live locally you can have your prescription delivered to your door by using our Free Prescription Delivery Service. This service is open to all eligible patients in the surrounding areas, please contact us for more info.

If you’re prescribed a medicine to treat a long-term condition for the first time, you may be able to get extra help and advice about your medicine from us through a free scheme called the New Medicine Service (NMS). We usually do this by keeping in contact with you during the first 4 weeks of your new medicine is prescribed.

The service is only available for people living in England, and only for those who have been prescribed a new medicine for the conditions listed:

• asthma
• chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
• type 2 diabetes
• high blood pressure
• people who have been given a new blood-thinning medicine

The NHS Discharge Medicines Service is a new essential service for community pharmacy commencing on 15 February 2021. The service has been established to ensure better communication of changes to a patient’s medication when they leave the hospital and to reduce incidences of avoidable harm caused by medicines. By referring patients to the community pharmacy on discharge with information about medication changes made in the hospital, community pharmacy can support patients to improve outcomes, prevent harm and reduce readmissions.

If you need one of your regular medicines in an emergency when you are unable to contact your doctor, we may be able to help. We must stress that this can only be done in genuine emergencies. It will be a private service, meaning that the pharmacist can charge for it.

You can have a free NHS flu Jab at our pharmacy:

• If you are 50 years of age or over
• If you are pregnant
• If you are a carer
• If you have certain medical conditions

People who are at the highest risk of serious complications are offered a free flu vaccination on the NHS. Even if you’re not in one of these groups, flu can make you feel extremely unwell for at least a week. You may be able to protect yourself with a private (paid for) vaccine through us. This service is available on a walk-in basis without an appointment and there is a charge for the service.

You come into the pharmacy at certain times in line with your prescription. There, you will take your medication under the supervision of our pharmacists.

The service aims to support and enable the recovery of the patients. So, we will always treat you in a friendly, non-judgmental and confidential manner. We are here to help you get better. We can provide support and advice and, if necessary, refer you to other specialist centres that may be able to help you further.

We can provide a supervised consumption service, usually in the private consultation room in the pharmacy.

If you have out of date or unwanted medicines, both prescription or over the counter drugs, don’t bin them or flush them. You can take your unwanted or out of date medicines back to your pharmacy for safe disposal, and it’s completely FREE.

Each year enormous quantities of unused and expired medications are dumped into bins or flushed down toilets and sinks. The effects on the environment and human health are unclear but the evidence is pointing to the presence of chemicals from prescriptions and over the counter medications in soil, drinking water, and the surrounding environment. Just as proper medication administration is important, so is safe and cautious disposal.

Only 8% of people use their inhalers properly. If you think your inhalers aren’t working or you still get symptoms, pop in for a free check-up.

Using the right inhaler technique helps you breathe the medicine straight into your lungs, where it’s needed. You’re less likely to get side effects, because not much of the medicine is absorbed into the rest of your body, and you’re giving yourself the best chance of managing your symptoms. The pharmacy team can help you with the right technique to get the best out of your inhaler.

We can provide this service in a Private Consultation Room and you do not need to book an appointment for consultation.

High blood pressure, or hypertension, rarely has noticeable symptoms. But if untreated, it increases your risk of serious problems such as heart attacks and strokes as well as damage to other vital organs in your body.

Around a third of adults in the UK have high blood pressure, although many will not realise it.

The only way to find out if your blood pressure is high is to have your blood pressure checked.

At Westlake Pharmacy, we provide Blood Pressure Monitoring in the privacy of our consultation room. Your result will be explained to you and you will be offered any advice and support needed to manage your blood pressure. If appropriate, we may refer you to your doctor. Our pharmacy team will be happy to discuss any blood pressure concerns you may have.

The NHS Community Pharmacist Consultation Service launched on 29th October 2019 as an Advanced Service. Under this service, you can be referred by NHS 111 to our pharmacy to obtain your prescription medicines which you could not have because your GP practice is close, and also for minor ailment treatment by the pharmacist.

Patients and the general public access community pharmacies for self-care advice and to purchase over the counter medicines. It is sometimes difficult for patients to know when it is not necessary to access GP advice. Your GP would be able to refer you to see our Pharmacist when they deem it fit. The aim is to ensure that patients have access to the same levels of care, close to home and with a self-care emphasis. Your GP would have made a judgement that it is appropriate to see our Pharmacist.

Emergency contraception helps to prevent pregnancy after having unprotected sex or if the contraception you and your partner have used has become impaired. To be effective, emergency contraception should be used as soon as possible – within the 72-hour window after unprotected sex.

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.

A study showed that 1 in 3 people in the UK is affected by high blood pressure, sometimes referred to as hypertension. It is crucial to be aware of the risks, and how to reduce them, as high blood pressure can lead to heart problems, strokes, as well as damage to other vital organs in your body.

At Westlake Pharmacy, we provide Blood Pressure Monitoring in the privacy of our consultation room. Your result will be explained to you and you will be offered any advice and support needed to manage your blood pressure. If appropriate, we may refer you to your doctor. Our pharmacy team will be happy to discuss any blood pressure concerns you may have.

 

Our Pharmacists can advise you on the best course of treatment and prevention for head lice, Our pharmacy stock a wide range of medicines to combat and treat the presence of head lice effectively.

Anyone can catch head lice, regardless of whether your hair is long or short and clean or dirty. However they’re passed by direct head-to-head contact head lice can’t jump, swim or fly so children are more likely to catch them and pass them around when playing with friends at nursery or school. Head lice 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 attached 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.

Achieving and maintaining a healthy weight proves to be one of the most difficult challenges faced by all of us today. Being overweight and the complications associated with excess weight is a growing concern that is becoming more prominent. Currently, in the UK, 63% of adults are classed as either overweight or obese.

It is widely understood that carrying excess body fat can lead to serious health complications such as diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease. Obesity is also one of the leading causes of preventable cancers in the UK contributing to one in 20 of all cases.

Here at Westlake Pharmacy, we understand that each customer’s weight management journey is personal, that is why we provide a wide range of products that can help you lose excess fat the right way. Losing weight is not easy for anyone but setting goals that are both achievable and sustainable is the best way towards a healthier and happier lifestyle.

It’s no secret that a balanced, nutritious diet along with regular exercise is the safest way to lose weight and to keep it off long-term. But if you’re obese, you may need more help than this.

If appropriate, our pharmacist may be able to offer you clinically proven medication to help you lose weight, making sure it is suitable for you and your particular needs, and that it does not interact with other medicines you may already be taking. If the pharmacist identifies any extra medical issues, you will always be referred back to your GP.

 

Erectile dysfunction (ED) is defined as the inability to achieve and maintain an erection that is sufficient for satisfactory sexual intercourse. ED is very common with an estimated 50% of men between the ages of 40 and 70 suffering to some degree. There are various causes of ED, divided into psychological (i.e. stress, anxiety and depression) and physical (i.e. high blood pressure, elevated cholesterol and diabetes) causes. ED may be caused by a serious underlying condition and even if not can still be upsetting for the sufferer and put strain on relationships. It is therefore important to seek medical advice and treatment options.

At Westlake Pharmacy we offer a discreet, confidential Erectile Dysfunction service involving an initial questionnaire and screening. We will then discuss the different treatment options available to you and whether we can offer a suitable treatment or whether an appointment with your GP will be necessary.

It is estimated that 73 million inhalers are used in the UK every year. This number is only set to climb as the respiratory conditions increases. Once an inhaler has been used and there are no further doses inside, it should be recycled.

Unfortunately, many are unaware of the correct ways to discard of inhalers and subsequently, they are more likely to be disposed of in a local landfill to slowly degrade and cause environmental harm to the planet as residual gas from the canisters is slowly leaked, releasing harmful CO2 emissions that rival those of roughly 58,000 cars on the road (based on a yearly figure).

Our Inhaler Recycling policy and process

When it comes to inhaler recycling – all used inhalers should be returned to a pharmacy to be disposed of safely. Westlake Pharmacy will help with that.

Inhalers can be disposed of by the pharmacist along with other normal drugs waste. The plastic and aluminium parts of the inhaler can be used in other useful products, and any potentially dangerous greenhouse gasses can be collected to avoid releasing them into the atmosphere.

This environmentally safe disposal route is available at our pharmacy. If your inhaler is out of date or serving you no purpose, don’t let it be destined for the landfill. Take action and bring it in to be recycled at our pharmacy, we’ll be more than happy to have it recycled for you

 

Our pharmacist can save you a trip to the doctor for common ailments like coughs and colds, head lice, headache, diarrhoea, hay fever, indigestion, thrush, sore throat, haemorrhoids, constipation, threadworm, athlete’s foot, mouth ulcers, insect bites, nappy rash and many others.

If you are on a gluten-free diet, we can help you enjoy the benefits of the Gluten-Free Food Service. This is an NHS service which allows you to order and receive gluten-free food through your pharmacy instead of GP.

This service offers you:

• More control and choice in your gluten-free diet.
• The flexibility to change your order each month.
• Reassurance that you receiving the unit allocation you’re entitled to.
• The opportunity to monitor your condition through an annual health check at your pharmacy.

You can start receiving this service through Westlake Pharmacy in just 3 easy steps.

1. Speak to your GP to find out if your eligible and if so, how many gluten-free units are available to you each month.
2. Your GP will give you a signed registration form you can hand into us.
3. You will be registered by the Pharmacist and we will give you more information about the food list and how easy it is to order.

Please note this service is only available to customers with certain condition.

We keep records of all your prescriptions dispensed by us as well as records of other services we provide to you. This helps us check for possible problems, such as reactions between medicines and will help us deal with any queries you may have.

Our computer allows us to keep these records. We are registered with The Information Commissioners Office and comply with the Data Protection Act and the NHS code of practice on confidentiality. If you want to discuss the records we keep, please ask to speak to a member of staff or the pharmacist.