NHS community pharmacies are an accessible and convenient place for people to receive advice and support for contraception management.
The aim of the Pharmacy Contraception Service (PCS) is to offer people greater choice and access when considering starting or continuing their current form of oral contraception. The service supports the important role community pharmacy teams can play to help address health inequalities by providing wider healthcare access in their communities and signposting service users to local sexual health services. It also aims to create additional capacity in primary care and sexual health clinics (or equivalent) to support meeting the demand for more complex assessments.
A person may self-refer or be referred by their general practice, sexual health clinic or equivalent, to a participating pharmacy. A pharmacy may also identify a person is suitable for the service and highlight it to appropriate individuals. The pharmacist will offer a confidential consultation and as part of that, will reach a shared decision with the person on the ongoing supply of their current oral contraception, ensuring clinical appropriateness.
This is an NHS service and so the supply of oral contraception will be exempt from any prescription charges.
To be eligible to access this service a person must be an individual seeking to be initiated on an oral contraception (OC), or seeking to obtain a further supply of their ongoing OC:
- Combined Oral Contraceptive (COC) – from menarche up to and including 49 years of age; or
- Progestogen Only Pill (POP) – from menarche up to and including 54 years of age.
People who wish to consult another healthcare provider for contraception support are still free to do so.
Find a pharmacy that offers the contraceptive pill without a prescription