A new scheme for patients to get medication without having to go to their doctor has been launched in West Leicestershire.
The Pharmacy First service has been set up by the West Leicestershire clinical commissioning group, which plans and pays for local health services.
It is open to all those entitled to free prescriptions and registered with a GP in the area who are suffering from ailments such as coughs and colds, constipation and diarrhoea, conjunctivitis, allergies, cuts and grazes.
Each patient will receive a consultation from the pharmacist who can supply an over the counter medicine for free.
Kishan Kotecha, pharmacist and manager of the Earl Shilton Pharmacy, was one of the first to sign up to provide the service.
He said: "It is a great scheme. Pharmacists are not just pill counters.
"We are highly-qualified health professionals who have studied for five years.
"We can see patients without appointments and make a judgement on treatment.
"And, if we think it necessary we can refer the patient back to see their GP.
"I think this could play a real part in helping reduce the pressure on GPs, urgent care centres and hospital A&E departments."
Anyone over the age of two who is entitled to free prescriptions and registered with a GP in West Leicestershire can register with the scheme.
They will be asked basic information such as name, age, date of birth, post code and proof they are exempt from paying prescription charges.
The pharmacist will also let the patient's GP know what medication has been prescribed.
Professor Mayur Lakhani, a GP in Sileby and chairman of the West Leicestershire CCG, said: "I urge all eligible people to try this service wherever possible, it's an excellent scheme.
"Pharmacists should be the go-to people for minor illnesses.
"We need to increase people's awareness of the clinical skills of pharmacists and the services they offer.
"The NHS Pharmacy First service not only increases patients' choices, but it also allows GPs to focus on our many patients with more complex needs."
So far nearly four out of 10 pharmacies in West Leicestershire have joined the scheme.
A CCG spokesman said: "More are joining all the time."