Community pharmacy teams in Southport and across Sefton are this month starting to offer free coronavirus (COVID-19) test kits as they help to support the lifting of national restrictions and the pandemic recovery.
The new ‘Pharmacy Collect’ service will make coronavirus test kits – known as lateral flow devices – readily available to people without symptoms free of charge from local NHS pharmacies.
Pharmacy Collect offers a convenient location to collect these test kits from. NHS Test and Trace research found that people prefer to access testing close to home, with pharmacists trusted by their local communities.
The consumer healthcare association, Proprietary Association of Great Britain (PAGB), also found that since the start of the pandemic, almost one in three people are now more likely to visit a pharmacy for advice before seeking help elsewhere.
Anyone can request a box of test kits from the pharmacy counter for regular testing at home or elsewhere.
The test distribution service from pharmacies, along with other locations, sits under NHS Test and Trace and forms part of the Government’s https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-response-spring-2021/covid-19-response-spring-2021-summary COVID-19 roadmap plan.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced on Easter Monday that everyone in England would be given access to two free coronavirus tests a week. It is hoped that widening the offer of tests will help to identify COVID-positive cases in the community and break the chain of transmission, avoiding the need for further lockdowns.
You can use the NHS Test and Trace Site Finder map to locate participating pharmacies in your area: https://maps.test-and-trace.nhs.uk/
James Moir community pharmacist said:
“As a community pharmacist, I am really excited about starting the Pharmacy Collect service. Our pharmacy has been offering public health services for several years and my patients have been extremely positive about these.
“There is so much that pharmacists and their teams can do to help our communities as the COVID restrictions are eased.
“Community pharmacies are the most accessible healthcare locations; we offer convenient access to medicines and a range of health services without the need for an appointment. This will be of particular value in this service, where we can really help those who may not be able to travel far to access these tests.
“Pharmacy hasn’t stopped during the pandemic: community pharmacies in England continue to have 600,000 informal healthcare consultations a week. This shows that patients value the convenience of being able to choose to get health services from their local pharmacy.”
Community Pharmacy Sefton said:
“Community pharmacy provision of COVID testing means that people in Sefton will have greater access to this service. Many people may choose pharmacy for health services because they can visit pharmacies in a variety of locations and at a time that suits them.
Community pharmacists are looking forward to doing their bit as people return to work and education. This is just one of many examples of how pharmacy teams have helped support patients, the public and the nation during the pandemic.”
Alastair Buxton, PSNC Director of NHS Services, said:
“It’s fantastic that people without symptoms are able to walk into local community pharmacies to access free lateral flow tests to use at home. Pharmacies are at the heart of local communities: they have offered face-to-face healthcare advice throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and they are pleased to support the national testing programme. Many pharmacies have already begun offering this service, with many more expected to start in the next two weeks.”
Southport MP Damien Moore said:
For free testing kits to be available at community pharmacies is another step forward in ensuring the safety of our residents. Pharmacies in Southport have also been integral to the vaccination process which this Government has overseen – this important contribution will help us in sticking to the Prime Minister’s roadmap to ease lockdown restrictions.
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