Sefton Care at the Chemist Service
The Care at the Chemist scheme in Sefton offers quick and easy healthcare advice and medicines for a wide range of illnesses and conditions and is available at 28 pharmacies in the borough. It means that, where appropriate, residents can go directly to their local pharmacy for expert treatment or medicines for a wide variety of conditions, without needing to see their GP first.
The medicines are prescribed free of charge for anyone who does not pay for their prescriptions. Those who do pay will be charged the current prescription charge, or lower if they are cheaper to buy over the counter.
The conditions that are covered by the scheme include common illnesses like coughs and colds, fever and headaches, as well as conditions such as conjunctivitis, scabies, thrush and allergies. The full list of conditions included in the scheme are below.
| Acute bacterial conjunctivitis | Mild Irritant Dermatitis |
| Athlete's Foot and Ringworm | Mild to Moderate hayfever/seasonal rhinitis |
| Coughs, colds, nasal congestion/flu symptoms | Minor Conditions associated with pain, discomfort and fever (e.g. aches, sprains, headache, period pain, back pain). Infrequent migraine |
| Diarrhoea | Nappy Rash |
| Ear Wax | Nasal congestion |
| Haemorrhoids | Oral thrush |
| Head lice | Scabies |
| Indigestion and heartburn | Teething and mild toothache |
| Infrequent Cold sores of the lip | Threadworm |
| Infrequent Constipation | Vaginal thrush |
| Infrequent Mouth ulcers | Warts and verrucas |
| Insect bites and stings |
Residents in Sefton can drop into one of the participating pharmacies who are signed up to the scheme and ask about joining Care at the Chemist: