Pharmacy in East Sussex village changes name to ‘It Burns When I Pee Pharmacy’ for new campaign

The campaign aims to raise awareness about conditions that can be treated by high street pharmacies without needing to see a GP.

The temporary ‘re-brand’ highlights that patients can get treatment at pharmacies for simple urinary tract infections (UTIs).

The NHS Pharmacy First scheme launched on January 31 to let community pharmacies assess and treat patients for seven common conditions, covering sinusitis, sore throat, earache (ages one to 17), infected insect bites, impetigo, shingles, and uncomplicated urinary tract infections in women (ages 16 to 64).

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Brijesh Thaker, owner of Ringmer Pharmacy, said: “Prior to the launch of Pharmacy First, I would have had to refer UTI patients to the GP or walk-in centre depending on when they are presenting. They would then be seen to by one of the doctors and get a prescription sent back to the pharmacy.”

He said: “All of that can be avoided by seeing the patient in the community pharmacy.”

Brijesh hopes his pharmacy’s name change will raise awareness that simple UTIs can be treated at the pharmacy where people can get advice too. He said the sign has already provoked discussion in the village and said it has been rewarding to use his knowledge to help the community. He added the the sign will only be up for ten days.

Brijesh said: “Everybody's welcomed it from the community to the pharmacy team and the GP surgery team, they’ve all embraced the idea of something that’s a little bit quirky, out of the box, because they can get people talking about it.”

A spokesperson for PR group Freuds+, who are promoting the campaign, said Pharmacy First will free ‘up to 10 million GP appointments a year’. They said: “A recent Ipsos Mori study showed that the public identify pharmacies as the organisation they would be most likely to go to if they needed information or advice about a minor health condition (58 per cent), but one in five (20 per cent) say they do not normally contact or visit a community pharmacy.” They said the new campaign will run adverts across TV on demand services, radio, bus stops, billboards and social media.