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Asda Pharmacy has launched a national awareness campaign to help drive uptake of Pharmacy First services and support wider NHS capacity goals.

The ISSUE IS campaign uses a simple acronym to promote the seven conditions for which Pharmacy First can offer treatment. It is designed to improve patient confidence and drive footfall into community pharmacies, says Asda, which has more than 230 pharmacies nationwide.

ISSUE IS uses an acronym covering the Pharmacy First conditions that pharmacists can treat:

• I – Infected insect bites
• S – Sore throats
• S – Sinusitis
• U – Uncomplicated UTIs
• E – Earache
• I – Impetigo
• S – Shingles

“By turning clinical guidance into a clear mental shortcut, ISSUE IS helps customers act with confidence and get treated sooner, without automatically booking a GP appointment,” says Asda.

Research by the supermarket chain shows 77 per cent of GPs say minor conditions are putting unnecessary pressure on surgeries, and 31 per cent say they spend over an hour a day treating issues pharmacies could handle. Some 75 per cent of GPs believe wider use of Pharmacy First would help reduce waiting times and free up capacity for patients with more complex or urgent needs.

However, the challenge isn’t that people are seeking help unnecessarily, it’s knowing where to go, says Asda. Half of UK adults (50 per cent) aren’t aware which symptoms can be treated via Pharmacy First, and 22 per cent admit booking a GP appointment for something a pharmacy could have handled, simply because they didn’t know they had the option.

Awareness of Pharmacy First remains low, the research shows. Half of adults (49 per cent) had not heard of it before, while 11 per cent couldn’t name a single condition pharmacists can treat.

Confusion around where to go first has real consequences, Asda points out. More than half of adults (58 per cent) say they delayed seeking treatment after being unable to get a GP appointment, even though a pharmacy could have helped. Meanwhile, 32 per cent report long GP waiting times, 33 per cent were told to call back another day for a same-day appointment, and one in seven (14 per cent) have visited urgent care or A&E for minor symptoms.

Asda has partnered with TV doctor Dr Hilary Jones to promote the campaign and encourage the public to rethink where they go first when suffering from a common illness.