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Nick Linton, UK Country Head
| Opella
In the first of a series of articles exploring how government and industry can better support self-care and community pharmacy, Nick Linton, UK Country Head at Opella, examines how improving health literacy, and understanding of the power of self-care, can unlock the full potential of the government’s prevention agenda
There are few who would disagree that the future of the NHS lies in prevention. However, ongoing workforce shortages, backlogs and low morale have led to a gap between ambition and delivery.
Community pharmacy is a critical route to close this gap. Pharmacists see people more frequently than any other healthcare professional, often before small issues become serious ones. They are expert clinicians, whose advice and guidance provide a route to divert pressure from overstretched GP and urgent care services.
Harnessing that reach and trust is critical to delivering the prevention agenda.
Yet, too few people understand that pharmacy offers a highly expert source of medical advice. This denies them the opportunity to ‘self-care’ – to take proactive steps to manage one’s health.
I believe the answer is a public campaign to improve health literacy and promote the use of pharmacy as a route for self-care. It should make use of what already exists, and prioritises the importance and methods of accessing self-care advice.
Improving health literacy and access to information
Health literacy remains a barrier for many people, with the challenge going beyond access to information on self-care and pharmacy, but also whether that information is clear, understandable and trusted.
Without addressing this, people cannot be expected to assess symptoms, choose appropriate treatments, or know when to seek professional advice.
We need to change how health information is designed and delivered to patients. At Opella, we are actively working to simplify health information and make self-care more intuitive.
We’re doing this through clear, accessible digital content, patient-friendly packaging, and support tools that help people understand when to seek advice from a pharmacist. This approach helps build understanding and confidence, ensuring people recognise self-care options and know when pharmacy support is needed.
More broadly, brands have a powerful and often under-recognised role to play in supporting healthcare literacy. Their familiarity helps health messages cut through, while years of consistent advertising and consumer engagement mean they often benefit from strong recall, recognition and understanding. That matters because trusted brands can help simplify complex information, signpost people to the right support, and make self-care feel more accessible. Evidence from PAGB, the consumer healthcare association, shows that people place a high degree of trust in established healthcare brands, reinforcing their potential as credible partners in improving public understanding and supporting self-care behaviours.1 In practice, that means brands can do more than promote products: they can help people navigate choices, build confidence and take informed action sooner.
Industry collaboration
We also recognise the importance of working in partnership. Industry initiatives, such as PAGB’s annual Self-Care Census, have demonstrated the value of consistent, evidence-based self-care messaging.2
Given the survey in 2025 sought views of over 4,000 UK adults to track self-care trends, consumer attitudes and barriers, the Census provides vital insights that help shape targeted health literacy efforts, building public confidence and highlighting pharmacy’s role in prevention.
By acting on such insights, policymakers can take an evidence-led approach to improving health literacy and promoting self-care.
Delivering a national self-care campaign
To scale these efforts, a nationally coordinated self-care campaign, delivered jointly by government and industry, is essential. Opella is ready to play its part, bringing expertise in accessible health tools and messaging to complement pharmacists’ trusted advice.
The campaign should have three clear aims:
- Normalising self-care, particularly for less serious conditions
- Positioning community pharmacy as an expert source of health advice and information
- Improving health literacy at scale, so that people are better equipped to navigate often complex treatment and medicine options, and understand health information
Achieving these aims would help policy makers, industry and the NHS make the best use of our incredible network of community pharmacies, help people to access advice and treatment more quickly and closer to home, and relieve some of the burden facing our primary care sector.
In turn, by encouraging people to seek early advice and manage minor conditions themselves, we can help make sure that less serious conditions don’t escalate.
Unlocking pharmacy’s role in primary care
Community pharmacy should be the cornerstone of primary care, available at the heart of patients’ communities.
But this shift depends on more than policy ambition. It requires a system that actively supports people to engage with self-care and empowers pharmacists to guide them effectively.
If the government is serious about building a sustainable NHS, health literacy must be prioritised, self-care must be actively supported, and the role of community pharmacy clearly signposted to the public.
At Opella, we know our role goes beyond supplying medicines. We’re committed to making self‑care as simple and accessible as possible, working in partnership to build a future where people feel informed, confident and supported to take care of their health, safely and effectively.
References
- PAGB (n.d.). Naming and umbrella branding. Available at: https://www.pagb.co.uk/content/uploads/2026/01/Final-PAGB_Naming_Umbrella_Branding_report.pdf (Last accessed: 12 May 2026).
- PAGB (2025). The Self-care Census 2025. Available at: https://www.pagb.co.uk/content/uploads/2025/07/PAGB-Self-Care-Census-Report-2025.pdf (Last accessed: 12 May 2026).
