Healthcare in the UK is among the best in the world, but one of the most frequent complaints directed at the National Health Service (NHS) is the difficulty of getting a GP appointment quickly. Unfortunately, the system’s greatest strength is also its main weakness: Free healthcare leads to overuse.

In a Telegraph article earlier this year it was revealed that one in five GP appointments are unnecessary, with blocked noses and dandruff among the concerns raised with doctors. This amounted to 51 million appointments a year in England and Wales that could have been better used to tackle more serious complaints.

This has various knock-on effects, as people struggle to get through on the phone to make an appointment. Meanwhile, Accident & Emergency departments are full of patients who would have been better off speaking to their family doctor.

Yet one area of the NHS is underutilised, as many patients are unaware that their local pharmacy may be able to offer them the help they need without a doctor’s appointment or prescription. Pharmacists are highly trained medical professionals in their own right, and are able to offer all kinds of advice on the treatment of colds, mild skin conditions, allergies, stomach problems, emergency contraception and pregnancy tests.

So what services does your doctor provide? Well, if your condition is more severe than the above, but not so urgent that you feel you should go to hospital, your GP is the first person you should speak to. It is also worth speaking to a doctor if you have a persistent condition that does not go away.

Doctors are also able to write you a prescription, if you require specialist drugs that are unavailable over the counter. Unfortunately, you may also need to make an appointment for a repeat prescription if your doctor feels your condition may change.

Your doctor can also refer you to a consultant if you have a problem that you both feel is particularly serious. As your first main point of contact with the NHS, your doctor is the most likely person to identify a serious condition and will know what steps to take next.

GPs are also the first place to go for blood tests, vaccinations and travel advice. They can discuss contraception with you, and will be able to assess whether you require services like physiotherapy or orthopaedic medicine.

Waiting to see a doctor can take time, and you may not always get an appointment right away on the NHS. But if you take out private healthcare insurance you are almost guaranteed shorter waiting times for your GP appointments, alongside any other treatment you may require following this.

Be aware that it may take a while to see a doctor, so call for an appointment as soon as you think that one is necessary. If your condition is particularly serious, call first thing in the morning and ask for an emergency appointment, but be aware that a lot of other people will be doing the same thing.

It is also important that, should you feel better, you remember to cancel your GP appointment so that it can be given to someone else who needs it.

Finally, do not be afraid to visit your doctor. You know better than anyone how you feel, and if you think a pharmacist will not be able to help you then do not be concerned that your doctor will not take you seriously. They have seen and heard it all before, and their first duty is to improve your health.