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More than 8,500 NHS pharmacy contraception service initiation consultations have been carried out in England since December 2023, according to data from the NHS Business Services Authority (NHS BSA).
Latest data show that, between December 2023 — when the tier 2 service was launched — and April 2024, 8,531 initiation consultations were carried out in community pharmacies.
Tier 2 of the service involves the initiation of oral contraception in community pharmacies via a patient group direction. It builds on tier 1, which involves the ongoing monitoring and supply of repeat oral contraception prescriptions.
The latest data also show that community pharmacies carried out 48,234 consultations between December 2023 and April 2024 under tier 1 of the service.
In November 2023, NHS England announced that the pharmacy contraception service would be expanded to allow all pharmacists to initiate patients on oral contraception from 1 December 2023, as part of its ‘Delivery plan for recovering access to primary care’, following a pilot in 2022.
Later the same month, Community Pharmacy England announced that all pharmacies wanting to provide the contraception service would have to provide both tiers from the end of February 2024.
The NHS BSA data also show the number of initiation consultations carried out has increased each month. Over the most recent three months of data, pharmacies carried out 1,837 consultations in February 2024, rising to 2,235 consultations in March 2024 and 2,803 consultations in April 2024.
The government reported in January 2024 that almost 3,000 contractors had signed up to provide the service.
However, the NHS BSA data for April 2024 show that 1,240 contractors carried out the 2,803 initiation consultations.
Tier 1 of the service was first piloted in 2021, with the aim of relieving the burden on primary care and improving access for patients, and commissioned as an advanced service from April 2023.
Commenting on the data, Jasmine Shah, head of advice and support at the National Pharmacy Association, said: “These figures show a steady increase in the number of pharmacy consultations for initiating oral contraception and show the importance of choice for women.
“Pharmacies are convenient and non-stigmatising places to access sexual and reproductive health services.
“However, this service was launched against the backdrop of years of underfunding, which has reduced the resources available to implement new NHS services and slowed engagement.”
Tase Oputu, chair of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society’s English Pharmacy Board, said: “It’s great to see improved access to oral contraception for women, which now includes both ongoing supply and initiation of the medicine.
“This shows the vital role community pharmacies play in improving access to contraceptive services.
“However, we must address the gap in emergency contraception services. Women across England should have equal, free access to emergency contraception through community pharmacies like women in Scotland and Wales.
“We’re calling on the NHS to standardise this service to ensure fairness and ease the burden on other healthcare services.”
