We provide a private blood pressure check service. Monitoring your blood pressure as you get older is important as high blood pressure can lead to strokes and cardio-vascular problems.

Check your blood pressure

The only way of knowing whether you have high blood pressure is to have a blood pressure test.

All adults over 40 are advised to have their blood pressure checked at least every 5 years. Getting this done is easy and could save your life.

You can get your blood pressure tested at a number of places, including:

• at your GP surgery
• at our pharmacy
• as part of your NHS Health Check
• in some workplaces

You can also check your blood pressure yourself with a home blood pressure monitor.

People with high cholesterol do not know because there are no symptoms. However, high cholesterol causes something major (like stroke or heart attack) to happen. Therefore, it is important to measure your cholesterol to avoid any major health problem. Cholesterol is a fatty substance known as a lipid and is vital for the normal functioning of the body. Your body cells need it. However, having an excessively high level of lipids in your blood (hyperlipidemia) can have an effect on your health and wellbeing. Lipid fat is mainly made by the liver but can also be found in some foods we eat. Cholesterol is carried in your blood by proteins, and when the two combine they are called lipoproteins.

There are harmful and protective lipoproteins known as LDL and HDL, or bad and good cholesterol. Low-density lipoprotein (LDL): LDL carries cholesterol from your liver to the cells that need it. If there is too much cholesterol for the cells to use, it can build up in the artery walls, leading to disease of the arteries. For this reason, LDL cholesterol is known as "bad cholesterol". High-density lipoprotein (HDL): HDL carries cholesterol away from the cells and back to the liver, where it is either broken down or passed out of the body as a waste product. For this reason, it is referred to as "good cholesterol" and higher levels are better. At The Leys Pharmacy, we conduct Cholesterol Test at a small fee. The test is done usually after fasting for about 10 hours (come for the test before your breakfast and after you have avoided consuming anything after dinner).

The test involves taking a small blood sample from you. This is placed into a cholesterol analyser, which give the result after about 2 minutes.

• Ideal level: cholesterol level less than 4mmol/l.
• Mildly high: cholesterol level between 4 to 5.4mmol/l.
• Moderately high: cholesterol level between 5.5 to 7mmol/l.
• Very high: cholesterol level above 7mmol/l.

The LDL-Cholesterol level should be below 2.0mmol/l Total Cholesterol (TC), is a measure of the total amount of cholesterol in your blood at a given time. Your level should 5.2 mmol/L or less. Neither the TC nor HDL tests require you to fast. High Density Lipoproteins (HDL), is the so-called "good" cholesterol as it helps to clear excess lipids from the arteries. The higher this number is, the better. An HDL of 1.2 mmol/L or more is beneficial and considered a negative risk factor. HDL should be measured whenever your cardiac risk is being assessed. TC/HDL Ratio, is a comparison of total cholesterol to your HDL cholesterol. A ratio of 4.5 or less is desirable. The lower the ratio, the less risk you have of developing heart disease. Low Density Lipoproteins (LDL), is the “bad” cholesterol because it contributes to the build up of fat deposits in arterial walls. About 65% of the cholesterol in your blood is in the form of LDL.

A fasting LDL level of less than 3.3 mmol/L is desirable. Triglycerides (TG), are composed of fatty acids and glycerol. Like cholesterol, they circulate in your blood but are stored in body fat. When you eat a meal, your triglyceride (and glucose) levels increase significantly. Gradually, if you body processes the fat efficiently, the level of triglycerides will decrease. Your fasting triglycerides should be below 2.8mmol/L. Your HDL and LDL levels can be changed by exercise and diet. When altering your diet it is important to increase consumption of food products high in fibre (grains, fruit, vegetables, beans) and to lower consumption of food products that are high in saturated fat (butter and other dairy products like cream; red meat, some nuts and egg yolks). This process can actually be checked by periodic monitoring of your cholesterol.

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We recommend that all adults should get a cholesterol check – no matter what your age or how healthy you feel.

Your cholesterol levels depend on your genes as well as your lifestyle, so the only way to know your cholesterol numbers is to get a check.

You can have your cholesterol tested in our pharmacy using a simple blood test. This is often a finger prick test, it’s quick, you only feel a small pinch, and the results can be checked there and then. Or, you might have a small blood sample taken from your arm using a needle and syringe, you will get the result immediately.

At The Leys Pharmacy, our pharmacists are always at hand to deliver a direct service to customer including a chat while handing out prescriptions to the customer. If you want some privacy, we have a Consultation Room which will be made available for you immediately. Just ask. Further, our Patient Medical Records (PMR) System is industry standard with appropriate approved under the data protection act and updated daily. All possible medication interactions will be detected and interpreted professionally by our dedicated staff. Usually, our targeted waiting time is always under 10 minutes. If the pharmacy is busy, we guarantee you will not need to wait longer than 20 mins. If we receive your prescription before mid-day and we do not have your medication in stock, we will order the medication so it will be ready in the late afternoon for you.

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If you have out of date or unwanted medicines, both prescription or over the counter drugs, don’t bin them or flush them. You can take your unwanted or out of date medicines back to your pharmacy for safe disposal, and it’s completely FREE. Each year enormous quantities of unused and expired medications are dumped into bins or flushed down toilets and sinks. The effects on the environment and human health are unclear but evidence is pointing to the presence of chemicals from prescriptions and over-the-counter medications in soil, drinking water and the surrounding environment. Just as proper medication administration is important, so is safe and cautious disposal.

The NHS is introducing an Electronic Prescription Service (EPS), which every GP surgery and community pharmacy will have access to. All systems within the surgeries and pharmacies are being streamlined to work together so that most prescriptions can be sent electronically to the patients’ nominated pharmacy, which will in turn dispense the prescription without any paper being printed. However, you will still have the option of your paper prescription, if you so wish. Some of the benefits of the EPS include savings in time and energy spent on requesting, issuing and collecting (by the Surgery, patient or the pharmacy); accuracy improvement and avoidance of error as GPs and Pharmacist will not need to type prescriptions; prescriptions will be complete with full details of the medicines being prescribed, thus speeding up the dispensing process; and finally pharmacies will be able to dispense the medicine in advance of the patient arriving to collect it. How the EPS works You will be able to nominate your choice pharmacy, which you will use regularly for this service and the pharmacy will be able to receive your prescriptions electronically by downloading it from the secure central server which only accredited NHS/Surgery/Pharmacy staffs can access with their authorised smart cards. You can change your nominated pharmacy at any time you so desire. If you do not wish to nominate a pharmacy, you will be issued with a barcoded slip (encoding a copy of your prescription) at the surgery. You can take this to any pharmacy which will be able to scan this barcode and download the electronic prescription on their dispensing computers.

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The UK has over one million people who have diabetes but are unaware of it. There are about 2.35 million diabetics in the UK. Many people are in the high risk of developing this condition. Diabetes is a condition which develop because of a high blood glucose (sugar) level in the blood. This is a chronic condition. High sugar makes the blood thick. The thickness can lead to damage to the small blood vessels (microvascular) of such organs like the eyes, kidneys, feet, fingers and even the nerves; as well as to larger blood vessels (macrovascular) of the heart or peripheral vascular system. The blood glucose level which is normal for the human body is about 5 mmol optimum most of the time. When we eat anything containing sugars or carbohydrates, our blood glucose may rise to 8 mmol, which is higher than normal, our pancreas will release some insulin, which either stores the glucose in the liver or converts them to energy.

The pancreas uses insulin to regulates blood glucose levels to a narrow range (4 to 5 mmol). In diabetes people the pancreas is either not producing insulin or releasing it at all, or not enough is produced or released, or the insulin released does not work anymore (insulin resistance). Therefore, the diabetes person continues to have high glucose level in the blood. There are Type 1 diabetes and Type 2 diabetes, depending on the severity of the condition. Over 90% of diabetics are type 2. Both types lead to high blood glucose which results in organ damage. Although diabetes cannot be cured, it can be well managed with medication, lifestyle choice, exercising, weight-loss, etc. Diabetes is inheritable, so if there is a history in the family, you have to be very careful. Additionally, the following group of people are also vulnerable to developing diabetes:

• Those who are aged 40 years and over.
• Those who are overweight around the waist (central obesity).
• Those with Heart disease, Hypertension or Cerebral Vascular Disease.
• Those of Asian or African/Caribbean descent.
• Those with Cardiovascular history (raised blood pressure).
• Those with gestational diabetes (baby weighed more than 9lbs at birth). There are a few symptoms of diabetes. If you have a combination of these symptoms, you must do a blood test.
• Frequent urination
• Excessive thirst
• Thrush infections in woman (or itchy skin around the genitals)
• Unusual weight loss
• Blurry vision
• Tiredness/fatigue
• Infections Our pharmacists and staff are happy to conduct blood sugar test. Come in and ask and it is completely FREE. For more information: Go to Diabetes UK (www.diabetes.org.uk)

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This is an opportunity for our pharmacist to discuss and review the medicines you are taking to ensure you are using them correctly and getting the maximum benefit. We will explain clearly and simply, without any medical jargon, what they are for and the conditions they treat and identify any possible side effects that you may be experiencing. We will listen to you and any problems you are having with your medicines, provide advice and support and if necessary contact your Doctor to discuss any issues that arise from our conversation.

An MUR can help:

• improve your understanding of the medicines you are taking;
• highlight problematic side effects and propose solutions where appropriate;
• improve adherence
• reduce medicines wastage, usually by helping you only order the medicines you need

Our pharmacist may be able to conduct an MUR over the telephone or for eligible patient

Are you or someone you care for having trouble remembering to take all the medicines at the correct time or sorting out all the medicines? We can dispense your medicines into easy-to-use weekly dosset-boxes. Many of our patients are finding this solution very effective. We will collaborate with your doctor to pick-up your prescriptions and dispense your medicines into daily reminders for Morning, Midday, Evening and Night time doses. This is a good system and can be.

• Medicines intake can be easily monitored by families, carers and yourself.
• Easier for you to remember to take the right dose at the right time.
• Easy for self-management and helps you avoid double dosing or missed doses.
• Easier for carer's to give out medications to their patients.

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We dispense NHS prescriptions and will give advice on how to get the most benefit from your medicines. We keep a comprehensive stock of medicines and use a fast and an efficient wholesaler service to enable us to fill all prescriptions promptly.

We offer a private consultation room at our pharmacy where you can discuss private or personal issues.

Instead of repeated visits to your GP/Surgery to request your repeat prescriptions, our Repeat Dispensing (if you sign up for our Free Repeat Prescription Service) enables us to request your prescription from your surgery (of course only through your permission) using "multi-copy" or batch prescriptions before your current medicines run out. We manage the timing. We confirm with you. We request for your prescription on your behalf. We get it dispensed. We will text you that your prescription is ready for pick up or we deliver if you sign up for our free delivery service. This service is ideally suitable for any patient who is on long time use of any medicine.

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We can dispense NHS repeat dispensing prescriptions issued by your doctor. We handle repeat prescriptions, we send reminders and you can order online using our website or app.

The tobacco epidemic is one of the biggest public health threats we have ever faced, killing more than 8 million people a year around the world. According to the NHS, in the UK alone, smoking kills over 80,000 people every year and a further 500,000 people are admitted into hospital as a direct result of smoking.

Smoking has been linked to countless conditions from depression, infertility and asthma, to the more serious conditions such as lung cancer, emphysema and heart disease. It’s really not surprising that this is the case when you consider how many harmful substances there are in a cigarette. They have thousands of different chemicals, some of which are carcinogenic (cancer causing), and examples of others being acetone (used as nail polish remover), lead and cadmium (a highly toxic metal.)

The truth of the matter is, we all know how bad smoking is for our health, and a majority of smokers will say that they want to quit but giving up can be hard. Especially without the right help and support. That’s where our friendly and professional staff come in!

There is now more support than ever before, not just in the form of information, but also products designed to reduce cravings and to fight off any of the horrible withdrawal symptoms. One of the developments has been the introduction of Nicotine replacement therapy (NRT.) There are a variety of NRT products available:

• Patches
• Gum
• Inhalators
• Mouth Sprays
• Nasal Sprays
• Tablets
• Lozenges

Smoking is addictive because of the nicotine in cigarettes. That is why it is hard to quit. By starting one or even a combination of the above therapies, they will give a smoker a dose of nicotine in their blood. This reduces the nicotine withdrawal symptoms and cravings, whilst they break away from the psychological habit of smoking.

Our staff can advise you on the best way to kick your smoking habit. By coming in to our store our trained pharmacist will provide you with a free consultation, asking you questions such as how many cigarettes you smoke in a day and what triggers the need for a cigarette etc. By determining your ‘level of nicotine addiction’ the pharmacist will then be able to offer their advice on what they think would work best for you.

The pharmacist may even offer advice in other forms, for example, letting you know about any local support groups, advising you to take up a hobby or even suggesting a routine to start you off.

The benefit of having this support is that we are there 7 days a week whenever you need help, or even just a friendly professional to speak with. It is a proven fact that if you receive support while trying to stop smoking your chance for success is greatly increased.