The oral emergency contraception pill will be available for free to women from almost 10,000 pharmacies across the country without needing to see their GP or get an appointment at a sexual health clinic.

As part of a major expansion of pharmacy services announced by NHS England, people starting treatment with anti-depressants will also be able to seek additional advice and support about their medication and healthy lifestyle changes from their local pharmacist.

Earlier this year, pharmacies also began offering oral contraceptive pill consultations and repeat supplies, allowing women to start or continue the supply of their regular contraception from their local pharmacy. 

The initiative is part of a wider package of support for community pharmacies and expanding access to NHS services, helping people to get the care they need in convenient, familiar settings.

Dr Sue Mann, NHS national clinical director in women's health, said: ‘This is one of the biggest changes to sexual health services since the 1960s and a game changer in making reproductive healthcare more easily accessible for women.

‘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.'

A campaign running from 20 October 2025 until 4 January 2026 aims to build awareness of the support community pharmacists can offer to patients in their neighbourhood. It will appear on adverts across TV, radio, public spaces, as well as adverts on relevant websites and search engines, online videos and social media.

Janet Morrison, chief executive of Community Pharmacy England, said: ‘Allowing regular supply of oral contraception from pharmacies has been well received, so building on this to now include emergency contraception is a natural step.

‘Many pharmacies have been involved in similar local schemes for years, so we're pleased to see this important new service introduce a consistent offer to women nationally.'

In response, Henry Gregg, chief executive of the National Pharmacy Association, 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.'