September 2007

Background

"Minor ailments are generally described as common, often self-limiting, conditions.  They normally require little or no medical intervention and are usually managed through self-care and the use of products that are available to buy without a doctor's prescription.

Consulting and advising on the treatment of minor ailments has always been a core role provided by community pharmacists.  An average community pharmacist advises around ten members of the public a day on the treatment of such conditions, which equates to over 11,500 consultations a day in Scotland.

The pharmacist's role in managing minor ailments was initially recognised in "The Right Medicine - A Strategy for Pharmaceutical Care in Scotland"  It made a commitment to introduce schemes between general practitioners and community pharmacists to allow patients to use their pharmacy as the first port of call for the treatment of common illnesses within the NHS.  In addition it outlined plans to develop a new system of remuneration for community pharmacy contractors that would provide incentives to modernise and deliver quality services"¹.

Service Description

Minor Ailment Service (MAS) aims to support the provision of direct pharmaceutical care within the NHS by community pharmacists.  It allows eligible people to register with the community pharmacy of their choice for the consultation and treatment of common, self-limiting conditions.  The pharmacist advises, treats or refers the person (or provides a combination of these actions) according to their needs.  A person must be registered with a Scottish GP practice and exempt from prescription charges to be eligible for the service.

MAS went live across Scotland in July 2006, following the success of two pilot sites in NHS Ayrshire & Arran and NHS Tayside.

The links below give details on activity within MAS:

• Patient Registrations 
• Treatment 

References

1. Implementation of the Minor Ailment Service, NHS Education for Scotland (Pharmacy), June 2006.