JV's Pharmacy

JV's Pharmacy is where the JV Pharma story began. The group's founder, a University of Malta pharmacy graduate who had worked as a medical representative, bought this Swieqi pharmacy at the age of 27 as his first business, and it has grown into one of the best-known pharmacy groups in Malta. Today it is a busy neighbourhood pharmacy with a clinic corner, set a short drive from St Julian's and the Sliema coast.

On VisitMalta.co.uk it appears among our pharmacies in Malta and our wider health centres in Malta. For UK readers it is most useful as a local resource if you live in the north of the island or are staying for a few weeks.

The pharmacy and its team

The branch is led by managing pharmacist Francesca Samuel, who started in the shop as a pharmacy student and now runs it. She describes the shop as a place of familiar faces on both sides of the counter: a close team and customers who have become regulars.

The shop dispenses prescriptions and sells over-the-counter medicines, with the wider JV Pharma group behind it. That group has its own wholesale arm, so the pharmacy draws on a large catalogue of healthcare brands, medical devices and food supplements, and a support team handles queries from head office in Lija. The group's head office is at Navi Buildings on Pantar Road in Lija, and the pharmacy network now covers both Malta and Gozo.

In-store checks you can walk in for

Three screening services are offered without an appointment: blood pressure testing, blood glucose testing and urine testing. The blood glucose check is a finger-prick test that takes about five minutes and costs €5, paid in the pharmacy at the time. The urine test uses a dipstick read against a colour scale after about a minute and costs €3. The pharmacist records the result and, depending on it, may suggest you speak to your doctor.

These checks are screening services rather than diagnoses, and VisitMalta.co.uk cannot give medical advice. If you have a health concern, talk to the pharmacist or a qualified clinician.

The branch also takes part in the Pharmacy of Your Choice scheme, the national service through which patients with chronic conditions collect free government-supplied medicines from the pharmacy they register with.

Visiting clinics

A rota of visiting practitioners sees patients here, mostly by appointment. The clinicians named on the pharmacy's page are consultant paediatrician Professor Simon Attard Montalto, ENT surgeon Mr Imed Ben Moussa, consultant dermatologist Dr Susan Aquilina, podiatrist Mr Luke Saliba, gynaecologist Dr Joanna Ghigo, and general practitioners Dr Mark Schembri Wismayer and Dr Marthese Bartolo.

Each keeps set days and hours, some on alternate weeks, and the two general practitioners are marked as seeing patients without a booking. Because rotas change, confirm the day and time before you set out. A nutritionist such as A New Better Life in our directory can complement a pharmacy visit if you want help with eating habits.

Staying nearby and planning your trip

Swieqi is a residential town just inland from the busy St Julian's and Paceville coast. If you are choosing a base, see our hotels in Sliema and St Julian's and our guide to where to stay in Malta. Our Malta weather guide helps you decide what to pack, and things to do in Malta has ideas for the rest of your stay.

Thinking of moving rather than visiting? Our UK guide to relocating to Malta explains the practicalities, and flights to Malta from the UK covers getting here. For a wider introduction to the islands, see our about Malta page and the best beaches in Malta if you plan to spend time by the sea. To ask the pharmacy a question, use the VisitMalta.co.uk enquiry form on this page and we will pass your message on.