Lincolnshire Co-op has said the majority patients who have visited one of its pharmacies for Pharmacy First consultations in the year since its launch used the service for urinary tract infections followed by sore throats.

Lincolnshire Co-op, who joined the Company Chemists’ Association this month, said “thousands of patients” have used Pharmacy First across its 43 pharmacies since its launch on January 31 last year.

Thirty per cent of consultations, the pharmacy chain said, were for UTIs and 29 per cent for sore throats, while 14 per cent were for earache and 12 per cent for sinusitis.

The biggest number of consultations delivered in a month was in December, which saw a 13 per cent increase on November when 31 per cent of consultations were for sore throat.

Lincolnshire Co-op also said 63 per cent of consultations for infected insect bites were delivered across June, July and August.

Over three times the number of consultations for sinusitis and more than double the number for earache and impetigo were carried out in December compared to August.

The lowest number of consultations were conducted in September. However, Lincolnshire Co-op said “seasonal trends may vary and patients remain at risk” of sore throats and sinusitis “regardless of the weather.”

When asked exactly how many consultations Lincolnshire Co-op has carried out over the last 12 months, it told Independent Community Pharmacist it was “unable to share volumes as it’s commercially sensitive and against our society policies.”

Head of Care at Lincolnshire Co-op Alice Hare said: “We’re proud to have supported the health and wellbeing of so many people in our local communities in the past year, not only by delivering high quality care, but by relieving some of the pressure on our busy GP surgeries.

“In addition to Pharmacy First services, we’ve delivered flu jabs, healthy heart checks, travel vaccines and more. I want to say a massive thank you to our hardworking pharmacy colleagues for delivering these important services.”