Pictured: Dr Christina Hennessey, Dr Tatjana Street, Practise Manager Stephen Bourke, Dr Tom Brett and Dr Gigi Taguri
Her.ie exclusive offer: Try Lloyds Online Doctor for just €10 until midnight Sunday!
This week Lloyds Online Doctor and Her.ie are running a competition to give away €5,000 worth of luxury goodies and vouchers, the equivalent of what a woman will spend on contraception over the course of her lifetime.
Unfortunately there can only be one winner but Lloyds is offering ALL Her.ie readers the chance to try the repeat contraception service for just €10 until midnight on Sunday*.
We asked practice manager Stephen Bourke to tell us a little more about the service.
Hi Stephen, what is Lloyds Online Doctor and how does it work?
We provide online consultations and prescriptions for a select number of treatment areas such as contraception, weight loss and smoking cessation. Patients simply log on to our website and complete a confidential questionnaire. This is then reviewed by our doctors who, if appropriate, will pop a prescription in the post. The service costs €25 and the prescriptions usually take 2 to 3 days to get to the patient. The prescription can be fulfilled at any Irish chemist.
Is the service safe?
Yes, we have treated over 600,000 patients in the UK since 2002 and are regulated by the Care Quality Commission. We have already treated almost 10,000 patients here in Ireland in the six months since launch. Our four Irish registered doctors follow guidelines set out by the Medical Council of Ireland and we take our clinical responsibly very seriously. That is why partners such as the Irish Family Planning Association and the NHS work with us to develop new services.
You ask patients to provide their own blood pressure readings. Is this straightforward?
Yes. Patients can either go into their local pharmacy or purchase a home testing monitor for about €20. Boots, Sam McCauley and Lloydspharmacy all offer testing free of charge, as do most of the independent chemists that I have spoken to.
Why do you think the launch has been so successful in Ireland?
Convenience and affordability. Taking time off work to get a repeat prescription for the pill can be a pain. Research we conducted this year showed a significant number of women found the cost of doctor’s fees to renew the pill excessive, especially given the reoccurring need for contraception. We are really pleased to be able to provide consultations at just €25.
*If you would like to try any of the consultation services provide by Lloyds for just €10 head over to Lloydsonlinedoctor.ie and use the code 187DE80 at check-out.
If you have any more questions about the service you can also check-out their Facebook page and Twitter where the customer service team are happy to answer any non-medical questions about the service
