What is the NHS Community Pharmacist Consultation Service?

How our community pharmacist service can benefit you
The NHS Community Pharmacist Consultation Service (CPCS) offers same day minor illness consultations with a community pharmacist.

How does the service work?
If you contact your GP practice requesting an appointment for a minor illness, your GP practice will ask a series of questions using a standard appropriate symptom checklist. If your symptoms are appropriate, the GP practice can refer your for a same-day consultation with a community pharmacist.

Following the referral, the pharmacist will contact you the same day by phone and either carry out the consultation by telephone, or arrange for you to attend the pharmacy, if appropriate. Sometimes you may be offered a video consultation by the pharmacist.

The pharmacist will take your clinical history and ask about symptoms and any current medication. Following the consultation, the pharmacist will offer clinical advice and may offer to sell you an over the counter product if appropriate. The pharmacist will make a record of the outcome of the consultation and send it to your GP by secure digital message.

This service helps us to support our patient communities by reducing wait times for minor illness consultations, giving our GPs more time to see more patients who may require more urgent medical attention.  We work hard to provide the right care at the right time for our patient communities and thank you for your cooperation in this new service.