If you’re between 40 and 74 and live in the UK, you should have a health check which we can do at our pharmacy for a nominal charge.

The health check should take around 30 minutes. A healthcare professional, will ask you a series of simple questions about your lifestyle and family history. The check is nothing to worry about and you won’t be asked any embarrassing questions or need to remove clothing.

You can also expect:

• A blood pressure test
• Your weight and height measured
• A finger prick blood test for your blood sugar levels
• AV check-this is a check of your heart using a mobile EEG monitor

 The Health Check focuses on:

• Heart disease
• Diabetes
• Strokes
• Kidney disease

 If you are over 65, you will also be told the signs of dementia to look out for.

After your blood pressure test, sugar level test and BMI results, the  Pharmacist will be happy to offer lifestyle advice or suggest you visit your GP, if needed. They might offer ideas on how to:

• Improve your diet
• Increase your levels or frequency of physical exercise

Is your blood pressure high, normal or low? Using our free blood pressure testing service is simple, just come along and speak to one of our Pharmacists and they’ll be happy to check your blood pressure and answer any questions you may have.

If you have out of date or unwanted medicines, both prescription or over the counter drugs, don’t bin them or flush them. You can take your unwanted or out of date medicines back to your pharmacy for safe disposal, and it’s completely FREE. Each year enormous quantities of unused and expired medications are dumped into bins or flushed down toilets and sinks. The effects on the environment and human health are unclear but evidence is pointing to the presence of chemicals from prescriptions and over-the-counter medications in soil, drinking water and the surrounding environment. Just as proper medication administration is important, so is safe and cautious disposal.

This is commonly known as the “morning after pill”. Not strictly accurate! In fact, it is effective for up to 72 hours after unprotected intercourse though we would stress that it is best used as soon as possible. We can provide EHC at the pharmacy during opening hours; no appointment is necessary.

It’s important to get information about ED from a reliable source. Our pharmacist can help determine what could be causing your ED and suggest suitable treatments. They may also be able to sell you an effective treatment.

We can provide advice on the products you may need for common ailments like traveller’s diarrhoea and travel sickness. Depending on where you are travelling to, we can also give advice about anti-malaria products you may need.

Lipotrim involves the use of nutrient-complete replacement products, developed by qualified nutritionists. The unique foods keep you healthy whilst losing weight by providing the full range of nutrients your body needs for a normal, active life.

We can dispense both NHS and private prescriptions

We can collect your prescriptions from local surgeries so that you can then collect your regular repeat prescriptions direct from the pharmacy without visiting your doctor each time. If you would like to be included in this service please complete the registration form in this leaflet and drop it in to Bugbrooke Pharmacy. Our free delivery service is available to patients over the age of 60, patients who are house bound and patients who have a medical exemption. We deliver to surrounding villages as well as Northampton (contact us for more info)

The flu vaccination lasts six months, so having one before the start of winter maximises your protection. Our trained pharmacist can usually administer the vaccination without prior appointment.

The tobacco epidemic is one of the biggest public health threats we have ever faced, killing more than 8 million people a year around the world. According to the NHS, in the UK alone, smoking kills over 80,000 people every year and a further 500,000 people are admitted into hospital as a direct result of smoking.

Smoking has been linked to countless conditions from depression, infertility and asthma, to the more serious conditions such as lung cancer, emphysema and heart disease. It’s really not surprising that this is the case when you consider how many harmful substances there are in a cigarette. They have thousands of different chemicals, some of which are carcinogenic (cancer causing), and examples of others being acetone (used as nail polish remover), lead and cadmium (a highly toxic metal.)

The truth of the matter is, we all know how bad smoking is for our health, and a majority of smokers will say that they want to quit but giving up can be hard. Especially without the right help and support. That’s where our friendly and professional staff come in!

There is now more support than ever before, not just in the form of information, but also products designed to reduce cravings and to fight off any of the horrible withdrawal symptoms. One of the developments has been the introduction of Nicotine replacement therapy (NRT.) There are a variety of NRT products available:

• Patches
• Gum
• Inhalators
• Mouth Sprays
• Nasal Sprays
• Tablets
• Lozenges

Smoking is addictive because of the nicotine in cigarettes. That is why it is hard to quit. By starting one or even a combination of the above therapies, they will give a smoker a dose of nicotine in their blood. This reduces the nicotine withdrawal symptoms and cravings, whilst they break away from the psychological habit of smoking.

Our staff can advise you on the best way to kick your smoking habit. By coming in to our store our trained pharmacist will provide you with a free consultation, asking you questions such as how many cigarettes you smoke in a day and what triggers the need for a cigarette etc. By determining your ‘level of nicotine addiction’ the pharmacist will then be able to offer their advice on what they think would work best for you.

The pharmacist may even offer advice in other forms, for example, letting you know about any local support groups, advising you to take up a hobby or even suggesting a routine to start you off.

The benefit of having this support is that we are there 7 days a week whenever you need help, or even just a friendly professional to speak with. It is a proven fact that if you receive support while trying to stop smoking your chance for success is greatly increased.

You are now entitled to ask your vet for a prescription to be dispensed by your pharmacist, in much the same way a family doctor gives you a prescription. You can then take advantage of the veterinary prescription dispensing service at this pharmacy. We also stock Drontal and Frontline for cats and dogs and can also order in other animal related medicines.

Private consultation area  Healthcare products and support for self-cares Service to care homes Vitamins and homeopathic medicine advice Health foods incl. gluten-free and diabetic Incontinence Support Advice on healthy lifestyle Support for people with disabilities