WIREDGOV

Eight pharmacies across Scotland are taking part in a walk-in pilot scheme.

Pharmacies in Glasgow, Dundee, Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Airdrie will operate extended hours and offer a selection of additional services. These will include nurse-led minor injury and illness clinics, sexual health treatment and testing, smoking cessation, immunisation and access to simple diagnostic services such as checks to determine heart disease risk.

Some services are already up and running with others due to come online between now and the end of the year.

Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon said:

"The Scottish Government is committed to making it easier for people to access high quality healthcare, as locally as possible.

"These walk-in pharmacy services will make a range of services available right in the heart of communities.

"All the pilot projects will operate extended hours. Here at Glasgow, for instance, the pharmacy will stay open until midnight six days a week, providing smoking cessation advice and sexual health treatment as well as core pharmacy services.

"We will now monitor these new walk-in centre pilots closely to establish their effectiveness locally."

The eight pharmacies involved in the pilot are:

Bairds Pharmacy, Clifton Road, Aberdeen

Boots, Bon Accord Centre, Aberdeen

Boots, Central Station, Glasgow

Boots, Braehead Shopping Centre, Glasgow

Alliance Pharmacy, Airdrie

Boots, Shandwick Place, Edinburgh

The Inch Pharmacy, Edinburgh

Alliance Pharmacy, Albert Street, Dundee

The pilot programme will run until March 2010.

Related Information

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Health