Healthcare is something I am very passionate about and often talk about on my blog and YouTube channel. When NHS England approached me and asked me to collaborate on this campaign, of course, I jumped at the chance. The new campaign called Help Us, Help You is about encouraging people to take responsibility for staying healthy and managing their own health so they can get the best of the NHS. Keep reading if you want to hear more about this and what we can all do to help.
Help Us Help You | Before it gets worse
Often when you get a health niggle, the first thought is just to ignore the symptoms! But putting off getting advice on minor health concerns could mean that the problem gets worse further down the line. So, you’re probably wondering what you can do to deal with it before it gets worse?
Community Pharmacists
If you head to your local pharmacy you can seek advice without an appointment! It is a super convenient and quick way to be treated. Sometimes we overstretch our NHS, often for minor concerns that our local pharmacies can manage instead.
“Community pharmacists are healthcare professionals who can offer you clinical advice and over the counter medicines to effectively and safely manage a range of minor health concerns. Such as coughs, colds, sore throats, tummy troubles, aches and pains and many more”.
Every pharmacist has trained for five years in the use of medicines before they qualify. They also have extensive training in managing minor illnesses as well as providing health and wellbeing advice. Nearly all local pharmacies have a consultation room where you can speak to the pharmacist confidentially. Ask to speak to a pharmacist in the consultation room to get their clinical advice.
If they assess you and believe your symptoms suggest something more serious they have the right clinical training to ensure you get the help you need.
Don’t feel embarrassed
We can all feel embarrassed asking for help and that is in our nature. Just because pharmacies seem more of an informal setting doesn’t mean they cannot assist you the same way a GP can for minor concerns. If you feel embarrassed or it’s something you don’t want to ask about with a queue of people behind you, then that’s okay! Ask to speak to a pharmacist privately to get their advice. It’s a great starting point for any minor concerns. It’s better to seek advice straight away than allow issues to worsen. This way we don’t overstretch our GP surgeries and we also get seen sooner and can feel better quicker. It honestly is a win-win situation for both ourselves and our NHS!
So with that being said, I hope it sheds some light on another effective healthcare tip. I did a video all about this as well so please spread the word. Thanks again to NHS England for collaborating with me on this campaign and helping me share this information. Let’s hope there is a continued brighter future for our healthcare. Read more about how your pharmacy team can help here.
xxx