You and Your Local Pharmacy

News - 25 April 2023

Are you prepared for the May bank holidays?
Have you ordered your repeat prescriptions yet?
We just wanted to remind you so that you don't run out of medication on your lovely vacations!

Healthwatch Gateshead would like to understand: 

How you interact with your local pharmacy. 

Any recent changes to the opening hours of your local pharmacy, whether the opening hours meet your needs, and the impact any changes have had on you. 

Your awareness and use of other pharmacies.  

As part of a network of 152 Healthwatch, the Healthwatch Gateshead are independent champions for people who use the health and social care services in our area. Our teams provide community engagement, research, evaluation, and assessment services within the fields of health, wellbeing, and social care. We also provide training and skills development for their teams of volunteers and the wider community. Our work ensures that the views of local people are heard by service providers and result in positive changes that have a real impact for our community. 

 Your feedback will be stored securely and will be shared anonymously. Our Privacy Notice is available here. 

We use your feedback to generate statistical information which we use to assess the current service provision. The information will be used by decision makers to plan future services. 

You can share your experiences here . 

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You and Your Local Pharmacy: Provision in Gateshead

Healthwatch Gateshead engaged with local residents to understand their experiences using pharmacies and specifically asked about:
• The reasons respondents visited their local pharmacy and the services they used.
• Any recent changes to the opening hours of local pharmacies that respondents were aware of and the impact, if any, these changes had.
• Local people’s awareness and usage of other pharmacies in the Gateshead area.
During a one month engagement period between 24th April and the 24th May 2023, residents of Gateshead shared their experiences using pharmacies in Gateshead.
Report
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Where can I go to get help for my health out of hours?

Health issues unfortunately don't leave us alone at the weekend and people are often in need of medical assistance out of hours. Using NHS guidelines, we have provided some advice and information on where you can go for help when your GP is closed.
Advice and Information