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Over 300,000 women in England obtained the morning after pill from pharmacies free of charge in the first five months after it was made available through the Pharmacy Contraception Service (PCS), the NHS has revealed.

Figures published by NHS England today (July 28) show that nearly 305,000 doses of emergency hormonal contraception (EHC) were supplied between October 2025 and March 2026, with 96 per cent of pharmacies having signed up to provide the PCS.

Meanwhile, the number of women accessing their ongoing contraception through the PCS has more than doubled, rising from around 50,000 in the first 12 months of the service to over 115,000 in the 12 months to February 2026.

Since February 2024, there have been over 1.2 million consultations for women continuing their oral contraceptive pill as well as 192,000 consultations for women who were started on the pill.

Health and social care minister Gillian Merron said the strong uptake for the EHC arm of the service “shows exactly why we made this change,” commenting: “Women deserve fast, confidential access to the care they need, without unnecessary hurdles or costs standing in their way.”

Leeds pharmacist Veronica Sanna said the reaction from local patients has been “incredibly positive,” explaining that women “really value being able to access confidential, professional advice quickly and easily, without needing to book an appointment” and adding that “timely, judgment-free sexual health support” is vital in an area such as hers with a “large student population”.

National Pharmacy Association chief executive Henry Gregg said pharmacies are “proud to be delivering this vital programme” and have to potential to deliver “many more NHS services” than they currently do – provided the “right levels” of funding support are in place.

This was echoed by Company Chemists’ Association chief Malcolm Harrison, who said: “The success of this service shows exactly why community pharmacy is such a valuable part of the NHS.

“This service is giving women faster access, greater choice and the ability to get vital support from their local pharmacy when they need it most.”

Related: EHC should be sold from shops ‘like paracetamol’ say sexual health doctors