Here are some of the ways your local pharmacy helps women
“Women have touch points with medicines and pharmacy through all stages of life – from periods to pregnancy to menopause and often as carers too”
“In the past twelve months, the NHS in England has introduced two new pharmacy services for women – the Pharmacy First service covering uncomplicated urinary tract infections, and the national contraception service”
Compared to men, women are heavy users of community pharmacy services. Women have touch points with medicines and pharmacy through all stages of life – from periods to pregnancy to menopause and often as carers too.
Throughout the course of life, the support required will vary. Although women in the UK on average live longer than men, women spend a significantly greater proportion of their lives in ill health and disability when compared with men.
Naturally, this can bring them into frequent content with their local pharmacy team.
Here are some of the ways your local pharmacy helps women:
Periods. Your pharmacist can supply a range of medicines to help with pain relief for symptoms like headache and stomach cramps. Tell your pharmacist if your periods stop you from you following your normal routine. In some cases, you may need to visit a specialist, and the community pharmacist would support you with this in the first instance.
Contraception. Whether you would like to start a family, or want to discuss your contraception needs, the pharmacist is able to provide you suitable information and advice. A number of pharmacies now provide oral contraception and most provide an emergency contraception service.
Pregnancy. The community pharmacy is a healthcare setting which is available without prior need of an appointment. Share your experiences and any concerns or worries you may have at this special time, including what medications you can take for any cough/colds, heartburn, aching feet and so on.
Menopause. Most people associate the menopause with hot flushes, and the end of your periods, but as most women know there are many other symptoms from the menopause. These symptoms can start to manifest at an early age (some in their late 30s), known as the ‘perimenopause’ phase. This can be a frightening experience for some women, particularly if they begin to experience brain fog, and extreme tiredness and malaise.
There is evidence to suggest that addressing the perimenopause and menopause early may prevent further long term conditions further down the line.
Your local community pharmacy is there to support you, so whether it is to discuss any change in your periods, or feeling different, go to speak to them. There is often no need for an appointment, and they can also refer you to other healthcare professionals for further specialist support.
Women as carers. As we get older and our health needs become greater, we become more reliant on the NHS. Often life partners become the de facto carers. There is no formal recognition of this role, and often caring for someone would take its toll on the carer’s health. Talk to your local pharmacist about your own needs when you are collecting medicines for your loved ones, be they health concerns or otherwise.
Looking to the future
In the past twelve months, the NHS in England has introduced two new pharmacy services for women – the Pharmacy First service covering uncomplicated urinary tract infections, and the national contraception service. The National Pharmacy Association aspires for community pharmacies to be more fully integrated with the rest of the healthcare system, including being able to refer to specialist services as and when required.
The level of care women are entitled to via the NHS varies from place to place. Take fertility treatment: in one area, women may be entitled to three cycles of fertility treatment whilst in others, they can get just one cycle, or in some areas, none at all. Partly to tackle unwarranted variation, the Westminster government launched a women’s health strategy. It gave birth to the idea of community health hubs for women, bringing together services for women in an easy, local, and direct way.
