Boots confident its sore throat service will be rolled out nationally

Boots hopes to work with the NHS to roll out its sore throat test and treat service across the country, the multiple has told C+D.

exclusive
rsz_dip_uti_kit_final.jpg
Richard Bradley: Boots' UTI test and treat service is also going really well

NHS England announced in 2016 it was backing the “scaling” up of an on-the-spot sore throat swab service in pharmacies – first piloted by Boots in 2014 – to relieve pressure on the NHS, free up GP appointments and tackle antibiotic resistance.

Since then, Lloydspharmacy and Superdrug have launched their own versions of the service, while the Welsh government announced last year that it would fund a “phased introduction” of a similar service across the country.

A sore throat service is “definitely something we’re wanting to work with the NHS on, so we can roll that out across the profession, not just in Boots”, the multiple’s pharmacy director Richard Bradley told C+D in an exclusive interview last month.

The “overall sentiment” towards Boots’ sore throat service has been “hugely positive”, Mr Bradley added, and the multiple is keen to influence it becoming a nationally commissioned service.

“We’ll definitely see [the sore throat service] as a national service in the future,” he claimed.

C+D has asked NHS England whether it plans to commission a national pharmacy sore throat service.

UTI service rollout

Mr Bradley also said Boots’ urinary tract infection (UTI) test and treat service, which the multiple launched across 37 branches in January, is “going really well”, and the results are “really positive”.

The service allows customers to test for infection at home using a urine kit (pictured above), following a consultation with a pharmacist or pharmacy advisor.

“It’s early on at the moment…but we’ll look to roll that out further,” Mr Bradley said.

Boots is planning to publish an evaluation of the UTI pilot in an academic journal “in due course”, it told C+D last week.

Sign in or register for free

Latest from News

GPhC considering AI-written ‘on-demand’ calculations paper

 
• By 

The pharmacy regulator has considered using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to ‘clone’ questions in part of the registration exam – and contemplated scrapping the calculations paper entirely.

Public want more services offered at pharmacies, YouGov reveals

 
• By 

Three quarters of the respondents to a YouGov poll said they support pharmacies providing treatment for additional conditions, including chest infections and skin conditions.

Salary Survey: Do you have faith in the government?

 

After 14 years of Conservative rule, Labour stormed to an election victory in July. Does community pharmacy think the new regime understands pharmacy better than the last one?

More from Multiples