Local pharmacies in England will offer two new contraception and mental health services for free from tomorrow.
It will see millions of women able to get the oral emergency contraceptive pill free of charge via a confidential consultation, without needing to see a GP.
‘Patients will no longer experience a postcode lottery when accessing NHS emergency services,’ said Malcolm Harisson, chief executive of the Company Chemists’ Association.
‘This is a big step forward to making sexual healthcare more accessible, timely and convenient, removing the need for patients to visit different providers for their different needs.’
Claire Nevison, Boots Superintendent Pharmacist called the move ‘a significant step in ensuring that women have the access to healthcare they need, when they need it’.
There will also be depression support for patients starting anti-depressants so they can access advice closer to home.
This will include help with understanding their medication, managing their treatment safely and sticking to the course of their prescriptions.
These two new services are an expansion of the Pharmacy Contraception Service and New Medicines Service.
Pharmacies will offer two new free contraceptive and mental health services from tomorrow
‘This expansion is testament to the growing role community pharmacy plays in improving outcomes and helping patients manage their long-term conditions,’ said Mr Harrison.
But he added: ‘The New Medicines Service is likely to see a considerable increase in demand due to this change.
‘It is critical that continued investment into community pharmacy follows to ensure the service remains viable.’
The Pharmacy Contraception Service, launched in 2023, initially allowed chemists to provide ongoing support for oral contraception initiated in a GP or sexual health clinic.
It expanded in December that year to allow pharmacists to initiate routine oral contraception themselves.
This move was one of a package of measures to try and free up millions of GP appointments that winter.
Meanwhile, the New Medicines Service (NMS), which was set up in 2011, allows pharmacists to help patients manage long-term conditions.
It is estimated around 15 million people in England have a long-term condition, with many requiring routine prescriptions.
But worryingly 30 to 50 per cent of prescribed medications are not taken as recommended, which can make them less effective.
The NMS aims to tackle this issue by helping provide advice and support to patients who have been prescribed new medication.
If you’d like to use the service, you just need to request it when you pick up your prescription at the pharmacy.
It involves having three appointments either over the phone or in the chemist’s private consultation area with the pharmacist over several weeks.
In these appointments, you can ask questions about the medications and discuss any problems you’ve experienced.
This will now be particularly beneficial for patients who may experience side effects when starting antidepressants.
Common side effects can include nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, mood changes, difficulty sleeping, weight gain, feeling dizzy and fatigue.
Just last week a major review found that anti-depressants could be putting millions of patients at increased risk of weight gain, hypertension and heart problems.
British neuroscientists found the drugs differ significantly in their physiological effects, particularly with regards to cardiovascular health.
In particular they found that amitriptyline – a tricyclic antidepressant – caused weight gain, raised heart rate and heightened blood pressure in nearly half of patients.
It is estimated that in the general population for every 2.2lbs increase in body weight, cardiovascular risk increases by around three per cent.
According to the study’s findings, patients prescribed amitriptyline put on 3.3lbs after just eight weeks of being on the drug.
Their heart rate increased by 9bmp, and their systolic blood pressure—the pressure in your arteries when the blood is pumped by the heart—rose by 5mmHg.
This increases the risk of stroke by five per cent and risk of all-cause death by nearly 10 per cent.