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Pharmacy Voice and the PAGB are once again urging people with cold and flu symptoms to make pharmacies their first port of call for advice this winter.

The 'Treat yourself better with pharmacist advice' campaign is designed to ease winter pressures on the NHS by reducing unnecessary visits to GPs and A&E departments; reducing demand for antibiotics; and clearly signposting community pharmacies as the first place to visit for advice on managing the symptoms of common winter conditions.

Research commissioned for the campaign found that only one in five adults (21 per cent) make use of their local pharmacy for winter ailments and that half of those who visit their GP for common winter ailments do so because they want antibiotics. The condition-specific Self Care Advice guides, which were launched last year, have been improved to highlight the key messages around symptom duration and 'red flags'.They are available as an electronic resource on the Pharmacy Voice (www.pharmacyvoice.com) and NPA (www.npa.co.uk) websites.

The campaign will run until the end of February.