If you urgently need medication, contact your prescriber immediately to arrange a prescription. If this isn’t possible, you may be able to get medicine from our pharmacist in an emergency, subject to certain conditions.
You must have been prescribed the medicine before by a doctor, dentist, nurse independent prescriber, optometrist independent prescriber or other healthcare professional, who is registered in the UK. In addition to this, our pharmacist:
- will usually need to see you face-to-face
- must agree that you need the medicine immediately
- will usually need evidence that you have been prescribed that medicine before
- must be satisfied with the dose that is most appropriate for you to take
Our pharmacist may provide an emergency supply of up to 30 days’ treatment for most prescription medicines, with these exceptions:
- insulin, an ointment, a cream or an asthma inhaler – the smallest pack size
- the contraceptive pill – a full treatment cycle
- liquid oral antibiotics – the smallest quantity to provide a full course of treatment
- permitted controlled medicines (controlled drugs) – up to five days’ treatment. Permitted controlled medicines include a very limited range of medicines, such as those for epilepsy (phenobarbital). Many commonly used controlled medicines such as morphine or diamorphine can’t be supplied without a prescription by a pharmacist in an emergency