Pharmacies open in Ayrshire over the Bank Holiday
- Ayrshire Daily News
- 24 hours ago
- 2 min read
With GP practices being closed on Monday 5 May 2025, Ayrshire and Arran residents are being urged to check who to turn to if they need advice or support to cope with any common health concerns.
Some community pharmacists will remain open during this period and can answer questions on choosing and using the right medicine and provide easy-to-understand advice on treating everyday ailments. For information about how to access a wide range of healthcare services this spring, please visit the Spring Health hub on our website –
NHS 24 also has a number of pharmacists who are able to answer medicine and pharmacy-related questions over the telephone on 111 or visit NHS inform (http://www.nhsinform.scot.) for valuable advice on how to prepare.
Iain Fulton, Associate Director of Pharmacy, explains:
“You can do a number of things to make sure you are prepared to deal with common illnesses over the Easter period. Having a sufficient supply of medicines like paracetamol, sore throat and cough remedies will help to relieve the symptoms of common ailments.
“If you take regular medication, you should check your existing supplies and only order what you need to see you through over the holiday weekend. It is also a good idea to make sure you know when your local GP practice and community pharmacy are closed. Please also take into consideration the time required by your local GP practice and community pharmacy for processing prescription requests as this can add up to seven days”.
Under the Pharmacy First service, pharmacies can:
prescribe medication for you following a consultation*;
treat many women from age 16 for urinary tract infections*;
treat many patients for impetigo*;
treat patients over 18 for skin infections, including infected insect*;
treat patients over 18 for shingles*;
(*where they meet certain criteria)
