NHS Minor Ailment Service is an NHS service for children, people aged 60 or over, people who hold a medical exemption certificate and people on certain benefits. When you are registered for the Minor Ailment Service, your pharmacist can give you medicine for a minor illness or complaint, if they think you need it. You will not have to pay for this.
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 are under 16, or under 19 and in full-time education
– you are 60 or over
– you have a valid maternity exemption certificate, medical exemption certificate, or war pension exemption certificate
– you get Income Support, Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance, Income-related Employment and Support Allowance, or Pension Credit Guarantee Credit, or
– you are named on, or entitled to, an NHS tax credit exemption certificate or a valid HC2 certificate.
You can’t use the NHS Minor Ailment Service if you live in a nursing 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, this will be dispensed to you
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.Your pharmacist will complete a form which you must sign to register for the service. 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. You just need to re-register with the new pharmacy.
If you do register with a new community pharmacy, you will no longer be registered at the old one.
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.