The Department of Health and Social Care has now announced that NHS prescription charges in England will remain frozen for the rest of 2022/23. This is the first time in 12 years that the charge has not increased. It should be noted the NHS prescription charge is a contribution to the NHS; it is not a payment to the pharmacy and it is not related to the cost of your medicine(s). Charges for prescriptions will remain at £9.35 for a single charge. The cost of prescription prepayment certificates (PPCs) also remains unchanged; with a 3-month PPC remaining at £30.25 and 12-month PPCs remaining at £108.10 until next year. If you need four or more prescriptions in three months or 12 or more prescriptions a year, you could save money with a Prescription Prepayment Certificate – speak to a mem

World Hypertension day is celebrated annually on the 17th May. The main aim of the day is to educate the public and increase awareness of hypertension, which is also commonly known as high blood pressure. Hypertension is a major cause of a range of health problems such as strokes, heart attacks and kidney disease, and can also contribute to dementia. Many people who suffer from hypertension are not aware that they have it as there can be no symptoms, often people only find out after suffering a heart attack or stroke. The day is organised by the World Hypertension League (WHL) which is an umbrella organisation composed of 85 hypertension societies and leagues from all over the world. The theme for this year is Know Your Numbers, and the WHL would like to encourage as many people as poss

Swettenham Chemists will once again be supporting Mental Health Awareness week. Mental Health Awareness Week is an annual event run by the Mental Health Foundation that focuses on improving good mental health across the nation. This year from 9th - 15th May 2022, with the theme exploring the impact of loneliness and how we can tackle it. This follows recent research by the Mental Health Foundation that showed many people have increasingly been suffering from feelings of loneliness which has led to harmful consequences. They also discovered an increased demand from the public for loneliness to be addressed as a serious topic requiring urgent action. Given the theme of loneliness, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport in partnership with the Office for Health Improvement and