Millions of women will be able to get free contraceptive pills from a pharmacy without seeing their GP first, under NHS plans announced on Thursday.
Chemists across England will begin offering the pill from next month, taking pressure off overrun family doctors.
Women who opt for the combined oestrogen and progestogen pill will have their blood pressure and weight checked, while no checks are needed for the progestogen-only pill.
The move is part of an ambitious expansion of pharmacy services that aims to free up 10 million GP appointments by next winter.
NHS chief executive Amanda Pritchard said: “This is really good news for women.
“We all lead increasingly busy lives, and thanks to this action, rather than making a GP appointment, they can simply pop into their local pharmacy when they need or want to access contraception.
“We will also be expanding services so that more health checks are available for patients on the high street, which is not only better and easier for patients but also frees up NHS time for more GP appointments for those who need them most.”
More than three million women are thought to take oral contraceptives in the UK, and figures for 2022/23 suggest there were around seven million prescriptions issued for the drugs in England.
Until now, patients wanting to start taking the pill have needed to see their GP to receive their first NHS prescription.
The service will not immediately be available at all pharmacies but more are expected to join the scheme over time. Women will be able to check where they can access it on the nhs.uk web page.
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Around half a million women are expected to benefit in the first year alone.
The change will be followed by easier access to medicine for seven common conditions – sinusitis, sore throat, earache, infected insect bite, impetigo, shingles, and uncomplicated urinary tract infections in women.
Pharmacies will also ramp up blood pressure checks for at-risk patients with a commitment to deliver 2.5 million a year by Spring 2025 – up from 900,000 last year.
Estimates suggest this could prevent more than 1,350 heart attacks and strokes in the first year.
Health and Social Care Secretary Victoria Atkins said: “It is a pleasure to start my time as Secretary of State with such a positive example of the government, NHS and pharmacy sector working together to reach an agreement to improve services and save lives.
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“For the public these changes will mean more options for women when making a choice about their preferred contraception, reduce the risks of people suffering heart attacks and strokes and make it easier to access medicines for common conditions.”
David Webb, Chief Pharmaceutical Officer for England, said taking a “Pharmacy First” approach would enable thousands of people to access the help and care they need quickly and conveniently.
Janet Morrison, chief executive at Community Pharmacy England, said: “It makes perfect sense to use community pharmacies as a first port of call for healthcare advice, access to contraception and health checks such as blood pressure tests.
“Pharmacy teams will remain very busy throughout this winter but they will be working hard to build these new services into their daily workload when they relaunch.”
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