Pharmacies supply over 300,000 free morning-after pill doses in first five months

Pharmacies supplied almost 305,000 free morning-after pill doses in the first five months of England’s expanded contraception service.

The emergency contraception was provided between October 2025 and March 2026 without women needing to book an appointment with a GP or sexual health clinic, new NHS figures show.

The service launched in October 2025 and, by March 2026, 9,958 of 10,398 community and online pharmacies had opted to provide it, representing 95.8 per cent.

It provides access to emergency contraception as well as support for women starting or continuing the contraceptive pill.

NHS England said the service makes ongoing and emergency contraception easier and more convenient to access, with around four in five people in England living within a 20-minute walk of a community pharmacy.

Dr Sue Mann, NHS national clinical director for women’s health, said: “Making the emergency contraceptive pill free through NHS pharmacies was a major step forward for women’s health, giving women quicker and easier access to emergency contraception exactly when they need it, with no appointment, no waiting and no judgement.

“This service is already making a real impact, particularly for women living in more deprived communities, by making contraception easier to access closer to home.

“Crucially, this isn’t just about emergency contraception, community pharmacies can also help women start or continue the contraceptive pill, meaning they can leave with a longer-term plan, not just a one-off solution.”

Since February 2024, pharmacies have also carried out more than 1.2m consultations for women continuing to use the oral contraceptive pill, alongside a further 192,000 consultations for women starting it.

Oral contraception refers to hormone-containing tablets taken regularly to prevent pregnancy.

Henry Gregg, chief executive of the National Pharmacy Association, said: “Pharmacies are proud to be delivering this vital programme which has helped hundreds of thousands of women access the support they need with their contraception free of charge and on their doorsteps.”

He added: “Pharmacies have the potential to be delivering many more NHS services for their patients than they currently do.

“With the right levels of funding support and ambition, pharmacies can help deliver the government’s ambitions to provide more care closer to people’s homes.”