People hesitate to use a pharmacy for an actual health problem largely because they don't know what they're walking into. Will there be a queue? Do you have to explain yourself at the counter in front of other customers? Is it a real consultation or a quick opinion between other jobs? Will you just be sent to your GP anyway?
Reasonable questions, and rarely answered anywhere. So this is the whole pathway, step by step, as it works at Qrystal Pharmacy — including the parts that end with us saying you need someone else.
Step 1: Getting seen
There are three routes in, and none of them require a referral.
Walk in. Most consultations here start this way. You don't need an appointment, and you don't need to be registered with us or with a local GP.
Call ahead on 020 7403 2237. Useful if you're on a lunch break or want the consultation room ready when you arrive — we'll tell you the quietest time to come.
Book online for a specific slot, which most people prefer for planned things like travel consultations or vaccinations.
What to say at the counter: as little as you like. "I'd like to speak to the pharmacist" is enough — you never have to describe symptoms in front of other customers. If you'd rather name the service ("an emergency contraception consultation", "a blood pressure check"), that's fine too, and no further detail is needed at the front.
Step 2: The consultation room
Consultations happen in a private room with the door closed. Not a corner of the shop floor, not the end of the counter.
This matters more than it sounds. Contraception, sexual health, mental health, incontinence, alcohol, and weight are all things people won't raise standing at a till — and all things a pharmacist can help with. The room exists precisely so the conversation is possible.
What's said there is confidential, subject to the same professional standards as any other healthcare setting. If we need to share something with your GP, we'll tell you and ask.
Step 3: The assessment
A consultation is a structured clinical conversation, not a guess.
Expect the pharmacist to ask about:
- The problem itself — when it started, how it's changed, what makes it better or worse
- Your medical history — existing conditions, allergies, pregnancy or breastfeeding
- Everything you take — prescribed medicines, anything over the counter, supplements and herbal products, which interact more often than people expect
- What you've already tried
Where it's relevant, there's an examination too. For a Pharmacy First consultation that might mean looking at a throat, an ear, or a rash; for a blood pressure check it's a validated monitor and up to three seated readings.
Underneath all of it, the pharmacist is checking for red flags — the specific signs that mean this isn't a pharmacy problem. That check is running throughout, and it's the reason a consultation is safe even when the outcome is reassurance.
Most take ten to fifteen minutes.
Step 4: How it ends — four possible outcomes
This is the part nobody explains, and it's worth being straight about. A consultation has four honest endings.
1. We treat it here. Under Pharmacy First, our pharmacists can assess and, where clinically appropriate, supply prescription-only medicines — including antibiotics — for sinusitis, sore throat, earache in children, infected insect bites, impetigo, shingles, and uncomplicated UTIs. Free on the NHS, same day, no GP appointment. Other services — vaccination, emergency contraception, blood pressure checks — are delivered in the same visit.
2. We advise, and nothing needs prescribing. A large share of consultations end here: this is viral, it will settle, here's what genuinely helps and here's the point at which you should come back. That is a real outcome, not a failure of one. Knowing that something doesn't need treatment is worth the visit.
3. We refer you on. Sometimes the right answer is your GP, a sexual health clinic, a dentist, or an optician. When that happens we say so plainly, explain why, and tell you how urgently — rather than sending you away with something that won't work.
4. We escalate urgently. If the assessment turns up something serious, we act on it immediately — NHS 111, or 999, and we'll make the call with you rather than leaving you to sort it out.
Outcomes three and four are the reason the pathway is trustworthy. A service that only ever says yes isn't doing an assessment.
Step 5: Supply and explanation
Where something is supplied, it's dispensed there and then — no second trip, no waiting for a prescription to travel between buildings.
Before you leave you should know: what it is, what it's for, how and when to take it, what to expect, what side effects would matter, and what to do if it isn't working. If any of that is unclear, ask — that conversation is the part of the job that most affects whether a medicine actually helps.
Step 6: Afterwards
The journey doesn't stop at supply.
- Records go to your GP where relevant and with your consent, so your medical record stays joined up rather than fragmenting across services.
- Come back if it changes. Follow-up doesn't need an appointment. If symptoms worsen or don't settle in the expected time, that's information — bring it back.
- New long-term medicine? The free New Medicine Service gives you structured pharmacist consultations at 7–14 days and again a fortnight later, timed to the point where most people hit problems.
- Repeat prescriptions can be set to arrive automatically — nominate us through the Electronic Prescription Service, with free local delivery across SE1.
How long each step actually takes
Realistic timings, because "it's quick" isn't useful when you're deciding whether to come in on a lunch break.
- Blood pressure check — about 10 minutes, including the seated rest before the first reading
- Pharmacy First consultation — 10 to 15 minutes, plus dispensing if treatment is supplied
- Emergency contraception consultation — 5 to 10 minutes
- Flu or COVID vaccination — about 5 minutes, plus the standard wait afterwards
- Travel consultation — 30 to 45 minutes, which is why these are best booked
- New Medicine Service — 10 to 15 minutes, and can be done by phone
Waiting time depends on how busy we are, and the counter is busiest around lunchtime and just after five. Calling ahead genuinely helps — we'll tell you when to come.
Bringing someone else
A good share of consultations involve more than one person, and the rules are worth knowing.
Children. A parent or guardian should be present. Some services have age criteria — Pharmacy First covers earache in children aged 1 to 17, for example — and the pharmacist will confirm what applies.
Someone you care for. If you collect medicines or manage treatment for a partner, parent, or adult child, say so at the start. We can discuss a regimen, explain what each item is for, and flag what to watch for. Where the conversation needs the person's own consent, we'll tell you.
Language. If English isn't your first language, bring someone if that helps, or tell us — we would far rather take longer than have you leave with a medicine you're unsure how to take.
Young people. Under-16s can be seen confidentially for some services, including emergency contraception, where the pharmacist is satisfied they understand the consultation.
What the pathway doesn't cover
Being clear about limits is part of being useful.
We are not an emergency service. Chest pain, severe breathlessness, stroke signs, heavy bleeding, or rapid deterioration mean 999. For urgent problems out of hours, NHS 111 runs 24/7 — see our guide to urgent care near Borough.
We also don't replace your GP. Complex, persistent, or undifferentiated problems, formal diagnoses, and ongoing management of long-term conditions belong there. If you're not registered with a local surgery, the NHS explains how to register — it's worth doing, and it's free.
Where the journey starts
Qrystal Pharmacy, 301 Borough High Street, London SE1 1JH.
- Borough Underground (Northern line): about 2 minutes' walk
- London Bridge (Northern & Jubilee lines, National Rail): about 8 minutes
- Borough Market, Southwark Cathedral, Guy's Hospital: all a short walk
- Buses: frequent routes stop directly outside
Open Monday to Friday 9:00–18:30, Saturday 9:00–14:00.
- Call: 020 7403 2237
- Book online, or simply walk in
- Get in touch if you're not sure whether we're the right place
The honest summary: walking in costs you ten minutes and nothing else, the conversation is private, and the worst realistic outcome is being told clearly and quickly where you should go instead.
