Pharmacy first

Pharmacy first image

Home » Pharmacy first

Your local pharmacy is a good first point of call for medical advice if you are feeling unwell. In January, we introduced the new Pharmacy First Service, which allows community pharmacists to care for local people without the need for them to visit their general practice.

Our highly trained Pharmacists can provide blood pressure checks, contraception services, treatment for sinusitis, sore throat, earache, infected insect bite, impetigo, shingles, and uncomplicated urinary tract infections in women (under the age of 65) without the need for an appointment or prescription.

Pharmacies in Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes have signed up to the Pharmacy First scheme. You can find your local Community Pharmacist by visiting: https://www.nhs.uk/service-search/pharmacy/find-a-pharmacy

View all news

Latest news and highlights

News

16 February 2026

Half term clinics to offer catch-up vaccinations amid outbreak

Parents in Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes have been urged to bring their children’s vaccinations up to date, following news of a fast-spreading outbreak of…

News

6 February 2026

Have your say on proposals to relocate Mount Vernon Cancer Centre –…

People across Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire and surrounding areas have been invited to have their say on proposals to relocate Mount Vernon Cancer Centre to a new,…

News

4 February 2026

Bedford and Central Bedfordshire residents to be offered lung cancer screening

Eligible people living in the Bedford and Central Bedfordshire areas are to be invited to come forward for lung cancer screening, as the mobile screening unit prepares to move to…

Case Study

4 February 2026

On World Cancer Day, Denise marks 10 years since her first breast…

“I was inundated with messages of hope,” says Denise Coates, thinking back almost a decade to the first time she spoke out about her breast cancer diagnosis.  “There’s nothing positive…

News

2 February 2026

More appointments on offer in general practices, new figures show

The number of appointments available at general practices in Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes continued to rise in the three months to November 2025, according to new data published by…

News

29 January 2026

Urgent dental appointments now available in Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes

Extra appointments are available now for people in Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes who need urgent or emergency dental care. There are 700,000 extra urgent dental appointments being rolled out…