The pharmacist will see you now

Harry EnfieldNHS, a comedian, once drew laughs by playing an indiscreet chemist who mortified his customers. He inquired loudly into their bowel movements, commented on a wife’s positive pregnancy test after her husband’s vasectomy and interrupted one man mid-flirtation to inquire about his herpes. The character was sanctimoniously unimportant. “Where there is despair, we bring hope; where there is pain, we bring relief,” he intoned. “Where there is darkness we bring light: especially when developing photos.”Pharmacists are no longer figures of fun. On January 31st England rolled out a new scheme called Pharmacy First, which gives them power to prescribe treatments for seven common ailments, including ear ache, urinary-tract infections (in women) and shingles. The National Health Service () reckons this could free up as many as 10m appointments each year in general practice, where patients can often wait weeks for a consultation with a family doctor. The scheme also signals a philosophical shift— as the first port of call for all patients.