Common Conditions Service
The Common Conditions Service (CCS) is a private service delivered to you by pharmacists at participating community pharmacies. Through this service you will be able to avail of tailored advice and treatment (including prescription only treatment where appropriate) for eight common conditions.
This service is provided in line with HSE clinical protocols and national legislation.
Pharmacy Finder
The HSE have a list of all pharmacies offering the service on their website. This will help you find a pharmacy that offers the service. Click here to find a pharmacy providing the service.
The common health conditions are:
Allergic Rhinitis
Inflammation of the inside of the nose caused by an allergen. Allergens include pollen, dust, mould or flakes of skin from certain animals
Impetigo
A skin infection that's very contagious but not usually serious. It is caused by bacteria.
Shingles
An infection that causes a painful rash. It is caused by the chickenpox (varicella zoster) virus.
Uncomplicated urinary tract infection (UTI)
An infection of the lower urinary tract (bladder) in healthy non-pregnant females. It can also be called cystitis.
Vaginal Thrush
Common yeast infection in women. It’s also known as genital thrush or vulvovaginal thrush.
Eligibility
You do not need a referral from your doctor, you can self-refer into this service. If you suffer from any of the conditions outlined above, please talk to your community pharmacist. Not everyone may meet the eligible criteria as sometimes it may depend on patient’s age and/or other associated health conditions.
If you are not eligible for the service, you should still talk to your community pharmacist. They will provide you with advice about your condition and refer you to a healthcare provider where appropriate.
Service Fee
This is a private service, therefore you may inquire about the fee associated to this service. Pharmacies operate a price transparency policy. This means that they have on display at the premises the cost of the services provided including the CCS.
Please note that if you qualify for a government scheme, for example, you are a medical card holder, the medicine(s) may be cover under this scheme but consultation service charges may apply.
Patient Journey
It is very simple to access this service
Pharmacy Finder
The HSE have a list of all pharmacies offering the service on their website. This will help you find a pharmacy that offers the service. Click here to find a pharmacy providing the service.
Talk to the pharmacy
Once you have found a pharmacy you would like to use, check to see if the service needs you to make an appointment or if you can just walk in to talk to your pharmacist.
Patient assessment
To make sure that you get the right advice and/or treatment, you will be asked a few questions about your health, your symptoms and the medicines you might be taking. Some pharmacies may ask the questions by using an online questionnaire. Yes please change but can you add in the wording in green also please as people may not get any treatment.
Face to face consultation
The pharmacist or a member of the team will take you to the private patient consultation area. Once you are there, you will be able to have a private and confidential talk with the pharmacist. If you have filled out a questionnaire, the pharmacist will review it and may ask you some more questions. Your answers will help the pharmacist understand your symptoms and provide you with the best advice and/or treatment or for your condition.
Prescription
Sometimes you might need a prescription for a medicine to help you get better. If so, the pharmacist will write a prescription for the medicines you will need. You can decide to you would like to get the prescription filled at that pharmacy or if you would like to get the medicine(s) from a different pharmacy.
Direct you to another service
Sometimes your sickness or symptoms might need more specialised care and the pharmacist might send you to a different healthcare professional, like your GP. If you agree, your pharmacist will then share your information with the other healthcare professional.
