NHS Minor Ailment Service

What is the NHS Minor Ailment Service?

Everyone can go to their pharmacist for advice or to buy a medicine for a minor illness or ailment.
But this is a new NHS service for people, including children, who don’t pay prescription charges. It means that if your pharmacist thinks you need it then they can give you a medicine on the NHS without you having to pay for it. It will also save you making an appointment with your GP simply to get a prescription.

Who is the service for ?

You can use the NHS Minor Ailment Service if:

  • You are registered with a GP surgery in Scotland, and
  • You don’t pay for your prescriptions, and
  • You don’t live in a nursing or residential care home.

How does it work?

You register for the service with the community pharmacy of your choice.
You don’t have to make an appointment. You can go along at a time that suits you.
Your consultation will always be with a qualified pharmacist.
If your pharmacist thinks that you need a medicine or product to treat your symptoms they will give you this without you needing to pay.

How do I register?

You can register for the NHS Minor Ailment Service at a community pharmacy of your choice. You can do this at any time.
Your pharmacist will ask you for some details – your name, date of birth, gender, and postcode. He or she will also check whether you pay for your prescriptions.
Your pharmacist completes a form which you must sign to register for the service.
You will be asked to mark the reason why you don’t pay for your prescriptions on the form.
Your pharmacist may ask you for proof of your exemption, for example your maternity or medical exemption certificate or HC2 certificate Try to remember to bring this information with you if you think you might need to.
Your pharmacist will print a separate form for each member of your family, including children.
You can only register with one community pharmacy at a time for the NHS Minor Ailment Service.
If you want to go to another community pharmacy for the NHS Minor Ailment Service, you can. But you will need to register with the new pharmacy.
If you do register with a new community pharmacy you will no longer be registered at the pharmacy where you were registered before.

You still have to go to your GP if:

  • Your pharmacist suggests you should, or
  • You need a medicine that you can only get on prescription from your GP.

For a copy of this document please go to NHS Minor Ailment Service where you can view or download this leaflet.