NHS Pharmacy First Scotland will allow community pharmacies to give people expert help for treating conditions such as sore throats, earache and cold sores, along with common clinical conditions such as urinary tract infections (UTIs). Pharmacy teams offers advice, treatment or referral to other healthcare teams if required. 

This service will help people access the right care in the right place, without having to go to their GP practice or local Accident and Emergency Department for non-urgent treatment.

Your pharmacist can advise you about conditions such as:

• Acne
• Allergies
• Athlete's foot
• Backache
• Blocked or runny nose
• Cold sores
• Constipation
• Cough
• Cystitis (in women)
• Diarrhoea
• Earache
• Eczema
• Headache
• Headlice
• Haemorrhoids (piles)
• Hay fever
• Impetigo
• Indigestion
• Mouth ulcers
• Pain
• Period pain
• Shingles
• Some skin conditions such as cellulitis or insect bites
• Sore throat
• Threadworms
• Thrush
• Urinary tract infections (UTI's)
• Verrucas
• Warts

Please contact your local Pharmacy before calling your GP Practice if your query is about any of the above conditions. This ensures everyone can access the right treatment at the right time.

Some pharmacists have an additional prescribing qualification which allows them to prescribe a wider range of medicines, normally only available from your GP practice.

The Highland Mental Wellbeing website is a list of services, information and training around the subject of mental health and wellbeing.
It can be confusing to know where to start with online information, so it aims to help by highlighting some of the best websites and sources of help.
It also provides information about training and resources for community/service volunteers or paid staff, in a ‘helping’ or supporting role.

If you or someone else is feeling extremely distressed you should call 999 or go straight to A+E.
If the crisis is not life threatening call the GP or NHS 24 on 111.

Whether you are staying at home or heading abroad vaccines are here to keep you safe. They help protect you and your family from certain infectious diseases.

In the past those requiring a routine vaccination will have been invited to attend an appointment at your local GP Practice. As from 01 March 2023 most vaccinations will be delivered by the Health Board as part of a national vaccination transformation programme.

This will cover vaccines such as childhood vaccines including the primary immunisation course for infants and the pre-school booster, as well as adult vaccination programmes such as the shingles vaccine.  

Dr Tim Allison, Director of Public Health for NHS Highland said: “How you get invited to attend for your vaccination is not going to change. You will still be invited by letter to make an appointment for vaccination but going forwards this may now be at a new local venue dependant on where you live.

“Our local Service Delivery Centre will be on hand to answer any questions you may have about your appointment and our teams in our locally run clinics will ensure everything goes smoothly on the day.”

Travel vaccinations have already begun to transition to health board delivery with a number of community pharmacies across Highland now carrying out this service.

Immunisation is one of the most effective public health interventions for preventing illness and deaths from infectious diseases and we would encourage you to attend for your vaccinations when invited.

Further information is available on the NHS Highland website.

For further information –

How will I know when my appointment is?

You will receive a letter from NHS Highland with either a set appointment or advice to contact the Highland Service Delivery Centre (SDC) to make an appointment at a clinic location. The contact details for the SDC are 08000 320339 or nhsh.covidvaccine@nhs.scot 

What do I do if I have a query about my appointment?

If you have a query about your appointment please contact the SDC on the details above and they will register the issue. The community teams will then be contacted to help investigate as needed. 

What do I do if I have a clinical query about vaccinations?

If you have a clinical query please contact NHS Highland's Health Protection Team. The details for the Health Protection Team are 01463 704886 and the email address for the Health Protection Team is hpt.highland@nhs.scot.

Change to how this service operates - GP Practices 

If you are planning to travel outside the UK your travel health needs will depend on your individual situation and the following considerations:

• Your general health
• Where you are travelling to
• Where you will be staying
• How long you will be staying
• What you will be doing throughout your trip. 

Lots of useful travel health information is available online from the Fit For Travel Website provided by NHS Scotland. It is important you read through the information available online first before arranging a travel consultation with the Community Pharmacy NHS Highland Travel Health Service. 

The NHS Highland Travel Health Service will provide you with all of the information that you require to keep yourself and your family safe. Across Highland there are currently 8 Community Pharmacies providing this specialist NHS Travel Health Service. The ones local to our area are -

• Alness Pharmacy, High Street, Alness - 01349 883444
• Superdrug, High Street, Inverness - 01463 233261
• Bonar Bridge Pharmacy, Dornoch Road, Bonar Bridge - 01863 760011

Please contact any of the participating Community Pharmacies to arrange a suitable appointment to allow them to complete a full travel risk assessment. Travel health appointments should ideally take place 8 weeks before you intend on travelling to ensure any vaccinations provided take full effect before your trip. 

NHS Highland – GP Practices Public Holidays 2023

Alness & Invergordon Medical Group will be closed on all of the following dates for NHS Highland Public Holidays.

If you require medical attention on any of these dates, NHS 24 will be available via 111, or in a genuine emergency call 999. Chest pains and/or shortness of breath constitute an emergency.

• Friday 7th April 2023 (Good Friday)
• Monday 10^th April 2023 (Easter Monday)
• Monday 1st May 2023 (Early May Bank Holiday)
• Monday 8^th May 2023 (Coronation of King Charles) 
• Friday 7^th July 2023 (Summer)
• Monday 7^th August 2023 (Summer Bank Holiday)
• Friday 13^th October 2023 (Autumn Bank Holiday)
• Monday 25^th December 2023
• Tuesday 26^th December 2023
• Monday 1st January 2024
• Tuesday 2nd January 2024 

We have some good news to share regarding our prescription processing times. We have managed to improve this to an average of 2 working days!

Please note on busy/short-staffed days this can sometimes still take a little longer, and this also does not include your pharmacy's processing time, therefore over the busy winter period please plan ahead to ensure you do not run out of your repeat medication.

Thank you to our patients for your understanding while we implemented this new way of working, and we hope you will notice the improvement next time you order your repeat medication!

Got a smartphone, tablet or computer?

Why not help speed up the prescription process even more by signing up for our online prescription service? It is easy, safe and convenient. 

Click here to learn more and sign up.

Did you know you can opt in to SMS/text message contact with the practice? This will enable you to receive a text message reminder of any appointments you have booked with us.

Currently a lot of our administration time is spent trying to contact patients by telephone unsuccessfully. If you opt in to SMS contact, we can send you a text message to let you know we've been trying to reach you.

We will never send out any test results or personal information on these texts; they will be kept as basic as possible to help prevent any data protection issues. An example text message:

"Alness HC - Good morning, the doctor would like to speak with you regarding a letter they have received. Please contact us on 01349 882229 to arrange a call back. Thank you"

Sign up for our Text Messaging services here

It is important that you inform us of any contact detail changes as soon as possible, including your name, address, home or mobile phone numbers, and email addresses. This can be done online via the form found here.

A number of pharmacies across NHS Highland (Highland Council area) will now be offering members of the public their COVID and/or Flu vaccination to help support the winter vaccination programme. To book in please phone the pharmacy direct and the team will book you in for your appointment.

The following pharmacies are offering COVID and Flu vaccination –

Alness Pharmacy – 01349 883444 

Lochardil Pharmacy Inverness – 01463 236263

Right Medicine Pharmacy, Muir of Ord – 01463 870806

Michell’s Chemist, Dornoch – 01862 80253

The following pharmacies are offering Flu vaccination –

Care Pharmacy, Cradlehall – 01463 798978

Conon Bridge Pharmacy – 01349 866694

Strathspey Pharmacy, Newtonmore – 01540 673169

Superdrug (High Street), Inverness – 01463 233261

Fort Augustus Pharmacy – 01320 366813

Milton of Leys Pharmacy – 01463 71001

Balintore Pharmacy – 01862 832291

If you have already been sent an appointment for a different location you can still book into a pharmacy clinic but we would ask that you please contact the local Service Delivery Centre on 08000 320 339 to cancel your original appointment so it can be used by someone else. All clinic details are on the NHS Highland website and these are updated regularly. Please continue to check online for clinics in your area.

Scotland’s winter vaccination programme is now underway, with frontline health and social care workers and those aged 65 and over among the first to be invited for their COVID-19 and flu vaccines.

The vaccines will help protect you from flu and coronavirus this winter. NHS Scotland is vaccinating those most at risk first; please wait until you are contacted or called forward to book your winter vaccine appointment.

Frequently Asked Questions

• How will I get my vaccine? All vaccinations will be Board run clinics held in the community – please do not contact your GP Practice. All information on vaccine clinics is available on the NHS Highland website.
• How do I book my vaccine? Everyone over the age of 65 and those aged 5-64 who are at risk will be invited by letter to attend for their vaccine.Those aged 50-64 will also receive a letter asking them to book an appointment via the national portal. This will also be advertised this on the NHS Highland website and social media.
• What if I can’t make the appointment? If you received an appointment letter you can reschedule your appointment by emailing nhsh.covidvaccine@nhs.scot or by contacting the National Vaccination Helpline on 0800 030 8013 or the local Service Delivery Centre Helpline on 08000 320 339. If you booked via the portal, log back in to the portal and follow the instructions to change your appointment.
• How can people who are housebound access vaccination? People who are registered with their GP as being housebound will be contacted and vaccinated at home. If you receive an appointment to attend a clinic and cannot attend because you are housebound, please email nhsh.covidvaccine@nhs.scot or call our local Service Delivery Centre Helpline on 08000 320 339.
• Why aren’t you sending appointment letters to people under 65? The national portal provides the flexibility for people to self-appoint. Anyone in this age group who does not use the portal will still be contacted and offered an appointment, but not until later in the programme.

Clinic Locations

• Inverness Vaccination Centre
• Nairn Community Arts Centre
• Ullapool Village Hall
• Beauly Phipps Hall
• Invergordon Social Club
• Fortrose Leisure Centre
• Gairloch Community Hall
• Dingwall Leisure Centre
• Boat of Garten Community Centre
• Culduthel Christian Centre
• Smithton Church
• Merkinch Community Centre

Children - flu

• How are flu vaccinations being delivered to school-age children? This vaccine is being delivered at schools. You will receive notification from your school.
• Are 16-17 year olds eligible for flu vaccination? If you are still in school then you can receive this vaccine in school. If you have left school this age group is not eligible for the flu vaccine unless you have one of the eligible health conditions.
• What about children under the age of 5 who are not in school? Children not at school (aged 2-5yrs) will be offered their flu vaccination at a community clinic, as will children aged 6mths – 2yrs who are at risk.

We have lots of good news regarding staffing here in Alness & Invergordon!

We have recruited 3 new call handlers to our administration team. Please bear with us while training is ongoing.

We also have a new Advanced Nurse Practitioner onboard. Please welcome Carolyn to the clinical team!