People in the Black Country are being reminded to visit their local pharmacy for easy access to advice and treatments for urinary tract infections (UTIs).
More than 800 women across the Black Country have already benefited from the community pharmacy scheme making treatment for urinary tract infections (UTIs) faster and easier.
The scheme, launched at the end of February, enables local community pharmacists to treat women aged 16-64 with uncomplicated UTIs, without the need for a GP appointment or prescription.
Symptoms of a UTI include:
• Burning or stinging sensation when passing urine
• Needing to pass urine frequently or urgently
• Cloudy urine
• Passing excessive or large quantities of urine.
Sarb Basi, Director of Primary Care for the NHS Black Country Integrated Care Board, said: “UTIs are one of the most common bacterial infections that GPs see in female patients, with over 40 percent of women likely to suffer from one in their lifetime.
“They can develop quickly, are acutely painful and we know that patients want fast access to rapid relief of symptoms. Consequently, UTIs take up a large proportion of resources within the healthcare system.
“Community pharmacists are highly trained medical professionals and utilising them to improve access to UTI advice and treatment offers a more convenient service for patients, reduces the demand on general practice and can also offer patients access outside of standard GP opening hours, at a location close to where they live.
“The scheme has been very well received to date so I would encourage anyone who thinks they may have a UTI to take advantage of this offer and make their local pharmacy their first port of call.”
There are more than 170 pharmacies across the Black Country signed up to offer support and treatment for UTIs.
