England: EC pills to be free directly from pharmacies

ByCristina Puig

April 2025. Health authorities in England announced that emergency contraceptive (EC) pills will be available for free from pharmacies. Currently EC pills are provided for free in National Health Service (NHS) units. However, when procured directly from the pharmacy, the price of EC pills may vary extensively from one pharmacy, neighborhood or town, to another, creating significant disparities.

According the BBC, health authorities acknowledged that “women across England face an unfair postcode lottery when seeking EC, with access varying dramatically depending on where they live.” With this measure, the English government seeks to make access “to safe and effective contraception equal in all the territory”, and considers this measure “crucial to women’s healthcare and a cornerstone of a fair society”.

Only 10 years ago, England was one of the countries with higher prices for EC pills in Europe. With the introduction of this policy, England will join Belgium, British Columbia (Canada), France, Ireland, Luxembourg, Scotland and Wales in overcoming the cost barrier at the most frequent point of access: the pharmacy. On the other hand, England remains one of the very few countries in Europe, where the pharmacist consultation is mandatory and paid for.

Read more on Thepharmacist.co.uk.

Similar Posts

|

First participatory survey on pharmacy access to EC in Europe.

ByCristina Puig

Help us learn more about how real access to emergency contraception (EC) is in Europe!  July / Sept 2019. The European Youth Network on Sexual and Reproductive Rights (YouAct) and ECEC, launch the first participatory survey on pharmacy access to EC in Europe. With this effort, we want to: Learn how EC products are placed and stocked in…

Council of Europe urges Malta to improve availability of emergency contraception

ByCristina Puig

February 2022. The Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights strongly urges Maltese authorities to improve the availability of sexual and reproductive health services. In her report, published on February 15, Commissioner Dunja Mijatović notes that numerous pharmacies refuse to dispense EC on grounds of conscience, and that there are no measures in place to…

New brands of UPA emergency contraception pills in Europe

ByCristina Puig

January 2021. New brands of ulipristal acetate emergency contraception pills are becoming available in some European countries; as of January 2021 these can be found in Austria, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania and Spain. Visit the Country by country section of our website for more details on specific brands…

|

An update on access to EC in Europe: New publication by ECEC

ByCristina Puig

February 2022. Since 2012, the European Consortium for Emergency Contraception (ECEC) monitors emergency contraception (EC) availability and accessibility in Europe, and maintains a country-by-country database to generate and disseminate knowledge. This open-access database is regularly updated thanks to the collaboration of partners and local experts to whom we want to express our deepest gratitude. ECEC…

UPA ECPs mandatory dispensing protocol in Croatia cancelled

ByCristina Puig

As of June 2016, the mandatory dispensing protocol for UPA EC pills in Croatia has been cancelled. The dispensing protocol was developed by the Croatian Pharmacy Chamber, and its mandatory status was imposed by the Minister of Health in April 2015 following the European Medicine Agency’s (EMA) recommendation to sell UPA EC without a prescription….