Medicine dosage box

Emergency supply of prescription medicines

We care about our patients.

As your local community pharmacy, we have a duty of care to our patients. We can supply prescription-only medicine (POMs) without a prescription if one of our patients is in urgent need of the medicine or if a prescriber recommends their patient to us.

The medicine that you require must have been prescribed by a health care professional registered in the UK; a doctor, independent prescriber, dentist or medical practitioner. There are a series of conditions that must be met before the medication can be supplied. We will conduct a consultation to the supply of your medication fulfils the category of an emergency supply.

Is the service free?

Note, this is a private service that isn’t funded by the NHS. The cost will vary depending on the medicine and the amount that is required. We can refuse an emergency supply if your need isn’t really necessary or serious. In such cases, we will provide you with advice on how to access medical care, or we may refer you to another pharmacy or local GP. Call or visit one of our pharmacies for more details.

Can I Get an Emergency Prescription?

If you are away from home and have run out of medicine / your prescription, you may be able to “temporarily” register as a patient at your nearest doctor’s surgery. You can then book an appointment and get the doctor to provide you with a prescription for a limited amount of your medication.

You will need to visit your nearest pharmacy to pick up the prescription.

Can I pick up an Emergency Prescription out of hours?

You may be able to pick up your prescription out of hours if the pharmacy you are nearest to is open late or open on Sundays. Several of our pharmacies are open on Sundays and some are open late allowing you to pick up your medication.

Can I get an Emergency Prescription as a visitor to the UK?

There are certain criteria that you will need to meet to be able to collect an Emergency Prescription from a pharmacy whilst you are visiting the UK.  You will need to ensure that:

  • The medication you require has been previously prescribed to you by a doctor or dentist registered in a European Economic Area country (or Switzerland). Our pharmacist will request evidence of the prescription from you, as there are restrictions on medicine from the US or Canada
  • The prescription has been requested by a registered doctor or dentist registered in a European Economic Area. Prescriptions provided by other healthcare professionals or nurses are not valid for this service.
  • The medication has UK marketing authorisation and is not a controlled drug, you will not be able to pick these up with this service.