Politics Home | Putting the right medicines in patients’ hands: how improved medicine switching can support self-care

56 million people across the UK visit a pharmacy as their first point of call for medical advice every year. These local healthcare hubs remain one of the NHS’s most trusted and accessible front doors,¹ and the self-care support they deliver can improve outcomes and empower people to manage their own health. 

In my previous article, I explored the role of health literacy in unlocking self-care. But awareness must be matched with access to appropriate medicines. Unless pharmacists have the tools they need at their disposal, including a wide range of safe and effective medicines, much of their impact will be wasted. 

How can we expand access to self-care through medicine switches and by ensuring pharmacists are equipped to support patients to use these medicines safely and confidently?

Ensuring pharmacists have the right medicines to support self-care

The UK benefits from a globally respected medicine regulator in the MHRA. A critical part of its role is ensuring safe and effective general sales medicines can be accessed by patients as part of self-care, without the need for a prescription. 

Switching medicines from prescription-only to pharmacy or general sales list status is one of the most effective ways to expand self-care. PAGB, the consumer healthcare association, has long championed this agenda, working with government and regulators to create a more agile, proportionate switching environment that keeps pace with patient need and clinical evidence.

At Opella, we’ve seen how the MHRA can provide this access first-hand. 

Our allergy treatment, Allevia 120mg, was successfully switched directly from prescription-only to general sales list status. This breakthrough demonstrated that the UK’s regulatory framework can support innovative and responsible access to medicines.

The switch provided patients with tangible, real-world benefits. 

Easier access to effective allergy treatments means people can manage symptoms earlier, reduce disruption to their daily lives, and avoid unnecessary GP appointments. Hay fever alone is estimated to account for millions of lost work days each year in the UK, with poorly controlled symptoms impacting productivity, sleep, and overall wellbeing.²

Improving access to appropriate medicines is not just an issue of convenience; it’s an issue of public health and economic impact.

Improving the switching process

But too often the regulatory process around switching can be slow and inconsistent, denying patients the benefits I describe. To go further, we must build on existing PAGB, industry and government collaboration to streamline switching pathways. 

We can avoid unnecessary duplication of work through greater use of international evidence and alignment with initiatives such as the Access Consortium. This brings together regulators from across countries such as Canada, Australia and Singapore to promote collaboration. 

Furthermore, we need a regulatory and policy environment that actively supports switching and self-care. This includes continued backing for MHRA capacity, as well as aligning with PAGB’s call for a more responsive reclassification framework. We can also provide certainty to industry through clearer regulatory timelines.

These steps would accelerate access to safe, well-understood medicines and ensure the UK remains a leader in self-care innovation.

Ensuring safe use as part of self-care

Expanding access to medicines must go hand in hand with ensuring self-care is delivered effectively. Pharmacists are well placed to guide patients in selecting appropriate treatments, recognising red flags, and ensuring medicines are used correctly.

Taking allergies as an example, greater availability of effective OTC options allows patients to act quickly at the onset of symptoms, rather than waiting for a GP appointment. With pharmacist support, patients can choose the right product, understand how to use it, and know when to seek further medical advice. This combination of access to medicines and professional guidance is what makes self-care both safe and effective.

The system-wide benefits are significant, including reduced pressure on primary care and improved quality of life for patients who can manage their symptoms proactively.

A shared agenda for self-care

Community pharmacies already embody the NHS’s vision for local, accessible points of care, which can be integrated seamlessly into everyday life.

At Opella, we share this vision and believe empowered pharmacies can drive self-care, provide people with the tools, knowledge, and medicines to thrive independently, and help prioritise putting people’s health in their hands. 

By working alongside government, regulators, and representative organisations such as PAGB, we can accelerate the shift towards a system where switching enables better access, pharmacists enable safe use, and patients are empowered to act earlier.

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1. Community Pharmacy England (n.d.) Pharmacy: the heart of our community. Available at: https://cpe.org.uk/learn-more-about-community-pharmacy/. (Last access 6th March 2026).
2. Open Access Government (2026. Workers lose 29 million days each year to hay fever. Available at: https://www.openaccessgovernment.org/workers-lose-29-million-days-year-hay-fever/26729/ (Last access 23 April 2026).