Hundreds of thousands of women access free morning-after pill at NHS pharmacies in first 5 months

Hundreds of thousands of women have accessed the morning-after pill at high street pharmacies in the first 5 months since the NHS made it available free-of-charge.

New NHS figures show that almost 305,000 doses of the emergency contraceptive pill were supplied at pharmacies between October 2025 and March 2026 without women needing to book a GP or sexual health clinic appointment.

Now women can visit their local pharmacy and have a confidential consultation with a pharmacist or trained pharmacy technician, before receiving the emergency contraceptive pill on the same day.

Pharmacy teams can also support women with their ongoing contraception.

Since February 2024, pharmacies have carried out more than 1.2 million consultations for women continuing their oral contraceptive pill, alongside a further 192,000 consultations for women starting it.

Around 4 in 5 people in England live within a 20-minute walk of a community pharmacy, and by making both emergency and ongoing contraception available closer to home, the NHS is making it easier and more convenient for women to access the support they need.

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Source: Department of Health and Social Care, 28 July 2026