Prescribing of Over the Counter Medicines
Please be aware Bretton Park Healthcare, in line with NHS England, does not routinely provide prescriptions for the following:
| Acute sore throat | Conjunctivitis | Coughs, colds and nasal congestion |
| Cradle cap | Dandruff | Diarrhoea (adults) |
| Dry/sore/tired eyes | Ear wax | Excessive sweating |
| Haemorrhoids | Head lice | Indigestion and heartburn |
| Infant colic | Infrequent cold sores of the lip | Infrequent constipation |
| Infrequent migraine | Insect bites and stings | Mild acne |
| Minor burns/scalds | Mild cystitis | Mild dry skin |
| Mild irritant dermatitis | Mild-moderate hayfever | Minor pain, discomfort and fever |
| Mouth ulcers | Nappy rash | Thrush/ Candida (Oral or Vaginal) |
| Prevention of tooth decay | Ringworm/athlete’s foot | Sunburn |
| Sun protection | Teething/mild toothache | Threadworms |
| Travel sickness | Warts | Verrucae |
A pharmacist is always happy to advice on these conditions and will signpost if they feel you need further help to either the surgery, 111 or 999.
Please be aware that there are exceptions:
- If the medication is for a long-term condition
- You need treatment for more complex forms of minor illnesses
- You are taking medication to treat a side effect of a prescription medication
- The OTC medicine has a licence e.g. cannot be bought OTC in pregnancy
- Prescriber feels patient cannot treat themselves
Buying medicines OTC will allow the NHS to be able to treat more people with serious health conditions such as cancer, diabetes and mental health disorders.
If you have any questions or would like to speak to someone further regarding the above, please ask reception to book a telephone slot with one of our clinical pharmacists
We can all take steps ourselves to establish and maintain health, and to prevent and deal with illness when it occurs. Our website has been designed to promote self-care and you will find lots of self-help advice and signposting across the pages.
NHS Health A-Z provides useful information about common medical conditions.
Live Well provides advice, tips and tools to help you make the best choices about your health and wellbeing.
Medicines A-Z provides accurate information about commonly used medicines.
The Care & Support Services Directory explains your where you can get support if you need help with day-to-day living because of illness or disability.
Self Referral
Our Self-Referral page provides the details of lots of local and national NHS services and charities who you can refer yourself to without the need to speak with a doctor or nurse.
Self Care Forum
The self-care forum is a national charity which aims to further the reach of self care and embed it into everyday life. They have created a series of helpful factsheets on some of the more common ailments as well as information on Covid-19 and Nutrition. You can access the factsheets by following the link below:
Patient.info – Health information you can trust
Patient.info is an online resource which provides trusted information on a variety of health and lifestyle topics.
Information is shared through a variety of leaflets, videos, articles and blogs.
There is also a handy online symptom checker.