Asda pharmacies are to offer asthma patients Ventolin Evohalers without a prescription from a GP.

Under a patient group direction (PGD), pharmacists at the supermarket will be allowed to issue two ventolin Evohalers every eight weeks to customers over the age of 16 years, once they have completed a questionnaire on their medical background to ensure the treatment is appropriate. Together, the inhalers will cost a total of £7 – cheaper than if bought on prescription.

The service was launched in response to customer feedback on making treatments more accessible and is designed to help asthma patients, such as those whose inhalers are running low. Online training has already been provided to more than 400 Asda pharmacists and 50 locums to enable them to deliver the service.

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	Asda deputy superintendent pharmacist Faisal Tuddy said asthma sufferers would be able to receive their inhaler "within a matter of minutes". "We have listened to our customers and it was clear easier access to asthma relief is the most desirable service we could provide, ensuring sufferers receive the very best advice at the lowest cost," he said.

Under the PGD, pharmacists will advise customers on how to manage their asthma symptoms and ask them to inform their GP if they receive a new inhaler.

Asda superintendent pharmacist John Evans told C+D that sales of inhalers were secondary to "helping the patient understand how to use all their medication" and stressed that pharmacists would not be set targets for the service.

The superintendent will also be auditing the service to ensure patients cannot abuse it. "We've built into the system a way of auditing the customers who've come back and obviously if they do come back we'll be advising them to see a doctor," Mr Evans said.

He added that patients had been "very positive" about the service and that pharmacists saw it as "another big step that shows that they can make professional decisions to support their patients".

Asthma UK welcomed the move as a way for sufferers to "access inhalers more easily", but warned that GPs must not be excluded from the process.

"If people are using their blue reliever more than twice a week, it can be a sign that their asthma is out of control," said the charity's lead asthma nurse Cher Piddock. "It is therefore crucial that GPs are informed when their patients are issued with inhalers and that people who are struggling with their symptoms go for an asthma review."

Asda's service is being overseen by the online doctor service Dr Thom.