For housebound patients we offer a FREE prescription collection and delivery service, meaning you don’t have to leave the comfort of your own home. We only offer a prescription collection service for specified surgeries. To view the list, visit our page about repeat prescription, or click here. You can either setup your repeat prescription service up with us in-store, over the phone or online using our FREE online prescription manager.

FREE  vaccines available to
over 65 years and “At Risk” Individuals

Only £10.00 if not eligible.

There is no need for an appointment, though you can make one with us if you wish. All vaccinations are given in our private consultation room by our trained pharmacist, who will be able to advise on the possible side-effects of a seasonal flu vaccine, why it is important to protect against flu and how you protect yourself in other ways.Our pharmacist is fully trained and we are specialists in the provision of the seasonal flu vaccine.

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you would like to know more or would like to book an appointment. You can simply walk into the pharmacy and ask to have a flu vaccine, there may be a few minutes wait at busy times.

The Seasonal Flu Vaccine.

Flu (also known as influenza) is a highly infectious illness caused by the flu virus. It spreads rapidly through small droplets coughed or sneezed into the air by an infected person.

Studies have shown that flu vaccines provide effective protection against the flu, although protection may not be complete and may vary between people. Protection from the vaccine gradually decreases and flu strains change over time. Therefore, new vaccines are made each year and people at risk of flu are encouraged to be vaccinated every year.

Types of flu:

A new flu vaccine has to be produced each year. This is because the flu virus continually changes and different types of flu virus circulate each winter.

In February each year, the World Health Organisation (WHO) makes an assessment of the strains of flu virus that are most likely to be circulating during the following winter in the northern hemisphere. Based on this assessment, WHO recommends which three flu strains the vaccines should contain for the forthcoming winter. Vaccine manufacturers then produce flu vaccines based on the WHO recommendations. These flu jabs are used for the countries in the northern hemisphere, not just the UK.

Production of the vaccine starts in March each year after the WHO announcement. The vaccine is usually available in the UK from September.

How the vaccine is made

The flu vaccine contains three different types of flu virus (usually two A types and one B type). For most vaccines, the three strains of the viruses are grown in hens’ eggs. The viruses are then killed (deactivated) and purified before being made into the vaccine.

How it protects you

The vaccine causes your body’s immune system to make antibodies to the flu virus.

Antibodies are proteins that recognise and fight off germs that have invaded your blood, such as viruses. If you catch the flu virus later on, the immune system will recognise it and immediately produce the antibodies to fight it.

It may take 10–14 days for your immune system to respond fully after you have had the flu injection.

The antibodies against the flu strains will gradually decrease over time and the flu strains can change from year to year. You need to have a flu jab every year to ensure the best protection against the latest strain of the virus.

Are there any side effects?

The flu jab does not usually cause side effects. Sometimes, it can cause mild fever and slight muscle aches for a day or so.

The flu jab cannot cause flu as there are no active viruses in the vaccine. However, people sometimes catch other flu-like viruses, or very occasionally could catch flu before the vaccine takes effect.

Allergic reactions to the vaccine are rare.

If you require emergency hormonal contraception (“the morning after pill”) you can obtain this from Speedwell Pharmacy any time during the week without a prescription. Our pharmacist will need to ask you a few questions discretely to ensure that this tablet is suitable for you.

The most commonly used morning after pill is Levonorgestrel 1500mcg (marketed as Levonelle). Recently, ellaOne (containing ulipristal 3mg) has also become available in pharmacies. Our pharmacist can discuss with you which one you may need.

If you’re thinking of giving up smoking, you are four times more likely
to succeed if you use a stop smoking product and get advice and support. We offer a private one-to-one consultation with a trained member of Pharmacy staff. They will discus your cravings, talk to you about what you’ve tried before and what Nicotine Replacement Therapy products might be best for you.

We can help you quit smoking for good. As a health care professional, your Pharmacist is ideally placed to help you through the quitting process from advice and tips on how to break the habit and also guidance on NRT (nicotine replacement therapy) products, such as gum, patches and many more, to help you when the urge just gets too much.

Your Pharmacist can talk you through a quit plan in confidence and help advise you on the best method for success in quitting smoking. It’s never too late to see health benefits from quitting and your Pharmacist can outline the great advantages of giving up. Talk to your Pharmacist today and start to feel better, healthier and happier.

Advice from your Pharmacist on quitting smoking is completely free and we will be happy to help in any way we can so that you can quit with confidence. Please visit us in-store or contact us for further details

NHS Go Smoke Free campaign.

The NHS Go Smoke Free campaign is a great source of information for quitting smoking. please see some of the links below for more information.

What happens when you quit smoking – Quitting timeline

Chlamydia is the most common sexually transmitted infection. It is more prevalent in sexually active  men and women under the age of 25. It is transmitted through unprotected sexual intercourse. For most people, chlamydia can show no symptoms thus having a test is the only way to confirm a diagnosis. Symptoms of the infection are pain while urinating, discharge from the penis, vagina or the rectum and or bleeding after sexual intercourse.

National Chlamydia screening programme (NCSP) is available in selected pharmacies, contraception clinics or colleges that allows people under the age of 25 to have a free confidential chlamydia test done. The test is very simple and is carried out with a urine sample or a swab and a physical examination is not necessary.  A test is recommended if you have a new partner, split condom or suspected STI infection.

It is important to have the test as early as possible to treat the infection and prevent complications occurring. Complications can include infertility in both men and women, pelvic pain and testicular problems in males.

We understand the responsibility that comes with looking after the residents of a care home, and at Speedwell Pharmacy we support care homes by providing comprehensive pharmacy services.

We are able to prepare monthly prescriptions in monitored dosage systems that allow care homes to safely and effectively administer medicines, and our extended opening hours and dedicated care home section allow us to respond quickly to any interim or mid-cycle prescriptions, and offer an extended delivery service to care homes.

Delivering palliative care is a difficult but crucial part of the duty towards patients in respite and we hope to assist by keeping in stock a range of end-of-life treatments that we can dispense.

Contact us by email if you would like more information on the support and services we can provide you.

Patient group directions are written directions that allow accredited pharmacists to assess patients and supply treatments for particular conditions, without a prescription, subject to exclusions.

We are able to supply sildenafil (Viagra), Cialis or Levitra through a patient group direction. This means you are not required to present an NHS or private prescription and are able to purchase these tablets at competitive prices.

Only suitably accredited pharmacists are able to provide this service so we would advise that you call to ensure they are present at the pharmacy when you arrive. Only patients in person can complete assessment forms and be provided with medication.

You may need malaria prevention treatment if travelling to destinations where malaria is a risk. This can be easily accessed at Speedwell Pharmacy. Let us know where you are travelling and we will discuss with you which tablet is most suitable, how long you need to take it for and how you can best protect yourselves against mosquitoes.