Your experiences of Pharmacy First

Your experiences of Pharmacy First

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Pharmacy First and people’s experience of the service in Northumberland

In autumn 2025, we asked for your views of the Pharmacy First service in Northumberland.

Pharmacy First, which was launched in January 2024, enables community pharmacies to provide treatment for seven common conditions without patients needing to see a GP. These are earache, impetigo, infected insect bites, shingles, sinusitis, sore throat and urinary tract infections (UTIs) for women aged 16-64. Pharmacists can also provide an urgent repeat medicine supply.

126 people from all parts of the county answered our questions about their knowledge and use of Pharmacy First.

Findings

Overall, about two thirds of people said they had heard of the Pharmacy First service and of those, about two thirds had used Pharmacy First.

The results of this project also showed that:

  • In North Northumberland the majority of respondents had not heard of the service
  • Across the whole of the county men weren’t as aware of the scheme as women, with a slight majority of men who hadn’t heard of the scheme
  • Awareness of the Pharmacy First scheme was good across all age bands, except in the 80+ year olds where just over half of the elderly respondents had not heard of the scheme

In terms of usage of the scheme, more people used the Pharmacy First service to get treatment for conditions other than one of the seven conditions that the service covers. Otherwise, sore throats and urinary tract infections were the most common reasons for seeking treatment.

The message to use your pharmacy first appears to be working as, overall, over two thirds of people said they did not try to make an appointment with their GP first. For those under 50 years old and all ages of men, this rose to four out of five saying that they did not try to make an appointment with their GP first. So, although less men are aware of the service, they are more likely to use the scheme than women.

Most felt happy about the level of support they got from the pharmacy, in terms of diagnosis and treatment and that their needs were met. Only a quarter of respondents said they were asked to see a GP or other NHS service, with the GP being the most common service that people told us they were asked to attend. As a consequence, over 85% were very likely or likely to recommend the Pharmacy First service to a friend.

In the future, most people would be happy to see a pharmacist for any of the seven Pharmacy First conditions. However, the two most common concerns about seeing a community pharmacist were the pharmacist missing something more serious or still needing to go to the GP, with about half choosing one or both of these worries.

Overall, Pharmacy First is seen as a great service, where you can be seen quickly, so relieving pressure on GPs. However, there are some concerns around confidentiality as about one in five people said they hadn’t been seen in a private area. While we recognise the physical constraints in some premises, lack of confidential space is an area to address if the take up of services is to be maximised.

Recommendations

To increase awareness of the Pharmacy First scheme:

  • Promote Pharmacy First in North Northumberland more as this area has a much lower awareness than the rest of the county
  • Promote Pharmacy First more in places men are more likely to go (e.g. football grounds, pubs and clubs, men’s toilets in trunk road services etc)

To increase uptake of the Pharmacy First scheme:

  • Promote the training and qualifications of pharmacists to women to reassure them that seeing a pharmacist won’t mean something is missed, or they will only have to go to their GP in the end anyway
  • Emphasise the importance for confidential space to maximise take up of the service

Read more online or download a pdf of our Pharmacy First findings report.

End-of life-care Northumberland

End-of life-care Northumberland

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Would you like to help shape future palliative or end-of-life care in Northumberland?

Palliative care supports people who are living with an illness that unfortunately cannot be cured. This illness may be cancer but is more likely to be a long-term condition such as serious heart or lung disease where cure is not possible. It focuses on helping someone feel as comfortable as possible in body, mind and spirit, while also supporting their family and carers.

End-of-life care is a form of palliative care given when a person is approaching the final stages of life.

We’re supporting the NHS in the region to hear how people feel about discussing death, dying and the care they would want for themselves or their loved ones.

Talking about death is something many people find difficult, but your views can make a genuine difference to how support is given at one of the most important moments in life. Your feedback will help shape plans for future services and support in the region.

Dr Kathryn Hall, GP and clinical lead for palliative and end of life care for the NHS North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board said: “Every person deserves compassionate and respectful care when they need it most. By taking a few minutes to answer our questions, you can help health and care services understand what matters to people, what feels challenging and what could be improved.”

The anonymous online survey asks for views on where you would like to receive palliative care, the most important aspects of end-of-life care to you, whether you have any written plans for your care and how you would like to be supported to find out about care options.

Share your views and thoughts on end of life care.

You can also give us a call to chat through the questions, on 03332 408468, or come and see us at one of our Here to Hear drop-ins which take place across Northumberland.

Organisations offering support

Thinking about death, dying, or end-of-life care can bring up difficult feelings. If you would like to talk to someone or find more information, the organisations below offer kind, confidential support.

Northern Cancer Alliance

Provides information, guidance, and resources to help people understand cancer care and support across the North East and North Cumbria.

Deciding Right – Northern Cancer Alliance

Helps people understand their choices about care, treatment, and planning for the future in a simple and supportive way.

Hospice UK

Offers information about hospice care and support for people at the end of life, their families, and carers.

Macmillan Cancer Support

Provides emotional, practical, and financial support for people affected by cancer, including help for families and carers.

Cruse Bereavement Support

Offers support, advice, and someone to talk to if you are dealing with grief or loss.

If you need support now, please reach out to someone you trust or contact one of the organisations above. You are not alone.

 

Here to Hear – at our monthly drop-ins

Here to Hear – at our monthly drop-ins

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Healthwatch Northumberland Monthly Drop-ins

Come and see us at one of our monthly drop-ins, which we hold in all five local council areas of the county. These sessions are a chance for you to tell us, in confidence, about your experiences of NHS and social care services so that we can understand what is working well and what could be improved. You can also use our Information and Signposting Service to find out more about local support and services. Call in to speak to our friendly team at one of the venues below, or if you’d prefer to make a specific appointment for one of the sessions, please get in touch.

  • Blyth Community Hub, 14 Market Street, Blyth, NE24 1BQ: Wednesday 21 January, 10am to 12pm.
  • Hexham Mart, Tyne Green, Hexham, NE46 3SG: Friday 23 January, 9am to 1pm.
  • Adapt Community Warm Space, Burn Lane, Hexham, NE46 3HN: Tuesdays, 10am – 1pm. Next date 27 January.
  • Morpeth Leisure Centre, Gas House Lane, NE61 1SR: Fourth Wednesday of the month, next date 28 January, 10.30am – 12.30pm.
  • Weavers’ Court, Swordy Drive, Alnwick, NE66 1SZ: Second Thursday of every other month, next date 12 February, 10.30am – 12pm.
  • Hexham General Hospital, Corbridge Road, Hexham, NE46 1QJ: Third Thursday of every month, next date 19 February, 10.30am – 12.30pm.
  • Free online information session: Second Friday of the month, 1.00pm – 2.00pm. There will be a different topic each month – see our online events page or social media for details.

We also attend one-off events throughout the county. Please check our events calendar or social media for more details.

You can leave feedback at any time here on our website

Free event – Vision Northumberland

Free event – Vision Northumberland

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Join us on Friday 9 January at 1pm to hear from Sue Taylor, chair of Vision Northumberland, about their range of services available for those with sight loss in Northumberland.

This includes their Low Vision Assessment Service, advice on aids and equipment, wellbeing clubs and groups, befriending and transport.

Sue will also give an overview of sight loss including some of the main causes and everyday challenges.

There will be a chance to ask questions after the presentation.

This event has now passed

Sign up to our newsletter to hear about future events or catch up with previous events on our online events page.

Your feedback November 2025

Your feedback November 2025

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Your NHS and social care feedback November 2025

Top issues

This month we heard mixed feedback about GP and hospital services. We heard negative feedback about hospital IT systems not being joined up with other parts of the NHS and that post-operation advice was not always provided to patients. However, several people did mention good quality service from both GPs and hospitals.

This month’s focus

Our Here to Hear drop-in sessions took place in East Bedlington, Hexham, Morpeth, Prudhoe and Ashington. We also attended Wooler Warm Hub, Hexham Livestock Mart, Ageing Well’s Winter Warmer event in Ponteland, Carers Northumberland’s Carers Rights information day in Morpeth and the ‘Digital health in rural communities: bridge or barrier?’ conference, organised by the National Innovation Centre for Rural Enterprise.

This month’s free online information session from the ME Association was an update on the latest research on ME and Long Covid. A recording of the talk can be found on our Online Events webpage.

Working with local Healthwatch and the NHS in our area, we asked for feedback on three services designed to help people access the care they need more quickly. These are GP out of hours appointments, the NHS App, and the Pharmacy First Service. You can leave feedback about these services online.

Positive feedback example

A person told us they have attended a hospital on many occasions for cancer care, and found all the staff they came into contact with to be friendly and very attentive. They particularly liked that the staff remember their name and use it throughout their interactions, making the person feel more at ease and like a person not a number.

Tynedale resident

Negative feedback example

“The Newcastle Hospitals and Northumbria Trusts operate totally different IT systems and appointment systems and don’t cross over. Arranging appointments between them as new patients to the English NHS was farcical and tortuous and not helped by the Scottish hospital records not being sent over into the England systems – which apparently is ‘normal’. Why? This is an everyday occurrence and surely can be
facilitated much more professionally, bearing in mind the huge and potentially serious range of health issues that are needing to be monitored/managed?”

North Northumberland resident

Impact

“Healthwatch Northumberland does a great job in terms of collating all of the patient feedback, distilling it, and presenting the key themes of that back to us. This evidence base can give us more to go on from a commissioning/contract perspective.“

Comment received from the Strategic Head of Primary Care (Northumberland and North Tyneside Delivery Team) at NHS North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board.

Information and Signposting Service

We were able to help people find the information they need on a range of issues and services, including sight loss support, elderly support groups, respite day care and drop-in hearing aid clinics.

Read more in our feedback summary for November 2025

Your feedback October 2025

Your feedback October 2025

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Your NHS and social care feedback October 2025

Top issues

This month we heard mixed feedback about GP services with a few people saying the appointment booking process had improved. We also heard about long waiting times for audiology appointments and long distances to travel to hospital outpatients appointments.

This month’s focus

This month we were out and about at our Hear to Hear events in Alnwick, Hexham, Morpeth, Seaton Valley, Prudhoe, Blyth and Cramlington. We also attended Hexham Mart, Thriving Together’s information sharing event in Ashington and had a table at the Young at Heart event in Blyth.

We hosted a ‘Mind the Gap’ session organised by Northumberland Health and Wellbeing VSCE Network, around farmers’ mental health.

Our online session was from Northumberland Talking Therapies, Tyneside and Northumberland MIND, and Northumberland Recovery College on ‘prioritising mental health in the workplace’, in support of World Mental Health Day. The session included a guided reflection and tips for dealing with stress. This was our second highest attended online event of this year.

Our ‘Pharmacy First’ project took place throughout October, with the aim of finding out people’s awareness and experience of the scheme. The results of this will be published in November.

Positive feedback example

A patient left positive feedback about their GP surgery.

“I get fantastic treatment at my GP surgery. It doesn’t matter whether it’s the receptionists, the practice nurses, the GPs or recently a trainee GP, they are all knowledgeable, approachable, thorough and very, very caring. I don’t think anyone can ask for more.”

Ashington and Blyth resident

Negative feedback example

A patient asked for a simple audiology appointment as her hearing aids are whistling. There are no obvious signs of what’s wrong but the person is very social and relies on the hearing aids. They have been told it’s at least 13 weeks wait for an appointment.

Cramlington, Bedlington and Seaton Valley resident

Impact

A person asked us for support at our Hexham General Hospital Here to Hear event in June 2025. They wanted help to find a missing hospital appointment letter and scan result on the NHS App. Their GP had received the letter but it wasn’t showing on the App.

We confirmed the details were not there and advised them to contact the consultant’s secretary or PALS for support to get the information uploaded onto the App, or speak to GP reception.

This month we received an update. The patient had followed our advice and contacted PALS, who had carried out an investigation.

The outcome was that the letter and scan result were added to their health record on the NHS App and they had an apology from the department concerned.

Information and Signposting Service

We were able to help people find the information they need on a range of issues and services, including counselling for young people, audiology, carers’ rights and cancer support groups.

Read more in our feedback summary for October 2025.

Accessing NHS dental care

Accessing NHS dental care

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Find out how to access NHS dental care

North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board (ICB) has a plan to improve oral health and increase access to NHS dental care across the North East and North Cumbria.

There are four ways patients can access NHS dental care:

Contact an NHS dentist

NHS dentists provide routine dental care and urgent care appointments during their normal working hours. Contact your regular dentist if you have one or search for a dentist near you.

If you have an urgent care issue and cannot get an appointment with an NHS dentist, try one of the options below.

Contact dentists that have extra urgent appointments

Selected dentists across the region have extra urgent appointments. A list of contact details for those practices can be found on the ICB’s website.

Book an appointment at an urgent dental access centre

Urgent dental access centres offer appointments to diagnose and treat urgent dental problems. Patients can book their own appointment at an urgent dental access centre at the ICB’s website.

There are 23 centres across the North East and North Cumbria, including three in Northumberland in Alnwick, Blyth and Hexham.

This is not a walk-in service so appointments must be booked in advance.

Contact NHS 111 for urgent care

Visit 111.nhs.uk or call 111 if you cannot find an urgent appointment with any of the NHS dental services above and have any of the following issues:

  • Severe toothache that causes pain that does not stop or cannot be eased by over-the-counter painkillers.
  • Dental abscess infections that cause swelling, pain and possibly fever.
  • Broken or knocked-out teeth.
  • Bleeding in the mouth following a dental procedure or an injury that does not stop by itself but can be controlled. If bleeding cannot be controlled in any way, emergency care may be needed.
  • Swelling in the mouth or face that could be a sign of infection.
  • Fractured, loose or displaced fillings causing pain.
  • Severe bleeding from gums or conditions affecting other soft areas of the mouth (such as cheeks or tongue).

The NHS 111 health advisor will discuss your needs and if needed, may be able to find you an appointment at an urgent dental access centre or an out-of hours treatment service.

Patients should only go to A&E or call 999 if they have:

  • Serious injuries to the face, mouth, jaw or teeth
  • Heavy bleeding from the mouth that will not stop
  • Severe swelling of the mouth, lips, throat or neck, and difficulty breathing or opening one or both eyes
  • Any injury to the head or face that has caused them to lose consciousness, vomit, or have double vision.

If you would like to tell us about your experience of NHS dental care or would like further information, please get in touch.

Tell us what you think!

Tell us what you think!

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We’d like to hear your views on three NHS services designed to help people access care more quickly and conveniently.

These are:

  • The NHS App
  • GP extended access (out of hours appointments)
  • The Pharmacy First Service

The NHS App

The NHS App is a simple and secure way to manage your health. It puts key services at your fingertips – anytime, anywhere.

With the NHS App, you can:

  • Book GP appointments
  • Order repeat prescriptions
  • View your health records
  • Access trusted health advice
  • Receive messages from your GP and hospital services

GP extended access

Extended access offers appointments for GP services outside of usual hours. This can include:

  • Same-day and pre-bookable appointments
  • Face-to-face, phone, or online consultations
  • Evening and weekend availability

Opening hours: Monday to Friday: 8am – 8pm, Saturday: up to 5pm

Appointments may be at a different practice, so check with your GP surgery or visit their website to book.

Pharmacy First

Your local pharmacist can help with many common health concerns – no appointment needed. Visit your pharmacy first for:

  • Earache
  • Impetigo
  • Infected insect bites
  • Shingles
  • Sinusitis
  • Sore throat
  • Urinary tract infections (UTIs) for women aged 16-64

Pharmacists can also provide an urgent repeat medicine supply.

These services are designed to help people feel better faster, particularly as we approach winter.

What do you think of these services?

Please share with us your experiences of these services. Your feedback will help the NHS in our area understand what is working well for people, and what could be better. You can:

  • Leave feedback online
  • Download an easy read version of the questions and return to us by email or post
  • Call us on 03332 408468 and one of our friendly team will go through the questions with you.

This piece of work has now finished. Thank you for sharing your experiences; we will share the findings with you as soon as we have them.

 

 

Free event – Tyneside and Northumberland Mind

Free event – Tyneside and Northumberland Mind

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Join us on Friday 12 December for our next free online event where we will hear from Steph Golder from Tyneside and Northumberland Mind. Learn about the range of mental health and wellbeing support services in Northumberland and how to access them.

We will find out more about the general support services available to all and their specialist support services for victims of crime, and those who have been affected by a traumatic bereavement.

There will be a chance to ask questions after the presentation.

This event has now passed

Sign up to our newsletter to hear about future events or catch up with previous events on our online events page.

Local hearing support drop-ins

Local hearing support drop-ins

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You can now get support with your hearing at local drop-in clinics run by RNID. The sessions offer hearing aid maintenance including supplies of batteries and tubing, information and support on hearing loss and basic hearing checks.

There are currently drop-in clinics in Alnwick, Berwick, Corbridge, Hexham, Morpeth and North Shields with more locations coming soon.

Search for a drop-in near you on the RNID website. No appointment needed.

Read our report Hearing what matters – experiences of audiology services in Northumberland to learn more about audiology services in Northumberland including our findings and recommendations.