The service allows customers to test for infection at home using a urine kit, which can be purchased from Day Lewis's more than 285 pharmacies for the cost of £10, app creator Healthy.io said today (November 26).
Day Lewis is the second pharmacy chain to offer the 'Dip UTI' testing kit as part of a private service, after Boots expanded its service to 300 branches in July.
In the same month, NHS England also announced it was piloting the same at-home testing kit across 38 participating pharmacies – including independents, and branches of Lloydspharmacy, Well and Rowlands – in Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire.
As part of Day Lewis's service, a “pharmacy advisor” will first ask a few questions to make sure a home-based test is appropriate, Healthy.io said.
The kit is paired with an app, available for free from Apple's App Store or Google Play, which analyses the customer’s sample using the camera on their smartphone, it explained.
If the test and symptoms indicate the patient has a bacterial infection, a Day Lewis pharmacist can supply a three-day course of antibiotics, under a patient group direction.
The follow-up consultation with the pharmacist and any antibiotics supplied costs an additional £15, the company explained. If treatment is not required, there is no charge for the pharmacist consultation, it added.
Commenting on the rollout, Day Lewis head of pharmacy Tim Rendell said: “Pharmacy is an evolving and exciting place to be. This new service puts Day Lewis at the forefront of the healthcare revolution.”
