Morning-after pill now free across pharmacies in England

The NHS has made the morning-after pill free at almost 10,000 pharmacies in England, ending postcode lottery access to emergency contraception.

Women can now obtain the emergency pill without charge at their local pharmacy, removing the need to visit a GP or attend a sexual health clinic. Some pharmacies had previously charged up to £30 for the service.

The NHS described the rollout as “one of the biggest changes to sexual health services since the 1960s.”

Dr Sue Mann, the NHS’s national clinical director for women’s health, said the expansion was “a gamechanger in making reproductive healthcare more easily accessible for women.”

She said: “Instead of trying to search for women’s services or explain their needs, from today women can just pop into their local pharmacy and get the oral emergency contraceptive pill free of charge without needing to make an appointment.

“With four in five people living within a 20-minute walk from a pharmacy, this service is another example of how the NHS is already delivering on our 10-year health plan commitment to shift care into the heart of communities.”

The announcement coincides with the NHS expanding pharmacy services to include support for people newly prescribed antidepressants, who can now seek advice and guidance about their medication and healthy lifestyle changes from their local pharmacist.

Henry Gregg, chief executive of the National Pharmacy Association, which represents about 6,000 independent pharmacies across the UK, welcomed the change.

He said: “We’ve long called for the national commissioning of emergency contraception so this is good news for patients and pharmacies alike that this is launching today.

“For too long, access to free emergency contraception has been a postcode lottery for patients, with local arrangements only existing in certain parts of the country.

“It’s really important that pharmacies, which are under significant pressure and closing in record numbers, are sustainably funded so they can continue to provide services to patients such as these.”

Stephen Kinnock, minister for care, said: “This is a major step forward that removes barriers of access to reproductive care that have let women down for too long.

“Pharmacies play a central role in communities, trusted by local people and easy to access. That’s why it’s vital there are a wide range of services and medications available.”