News | Sexual health

News

Emergency contraception pharmacy service is reducing health inequality, says NHS England

A key objective of the pharmacy contraception service was to make it “as accessible as possible” in deprived areas of England, says Kirsty Armstrong, senior policy lead for clinical strategy for pharmacy at NHS England.…

Published: 14 October 2026

Feature

Why do women in England’s poorest areas have lower rates of HRT prescribing?

Hormone replacement therapy prescribing has more than doubled since 2020/2021, but new data show that deep regional and ethnic inequalities in prescribing remain.…

Published: 1 September 2026

News

Boots launches private gonorrhoea vaccination service

The high street chain said that gonorrhoea vaccines, which will cost £220 for the full course of two doses, will be available at 160 of its pharmacies.…

Published: 11 August 2026

News

More than 1 million contraception appointments delivered by pharmacies in six months

The 1,007,415 pharmacy contraception service consultations included 375,040 emergency hormonal contraception consultations.…

Published: 28 July 2026

Opinion

Post-finasteride syndrome: pharmacists must lead the conversation on patient safety

We would not accept a tooth-whitening procedure that carried a risk of suicide, persistent sexual dysfunction and irreversible neurological harm. Why is it being accepted with finasteride?…

Published: 27 July 2026

News

Health news round-up: vaccination, testosterone and neighbourhood health

The Pharmaceutical Journal’s weekly summary of the important developments in pharmacy and health news you may have missed.…

Published: 17 July 2026

News

Coroner raises concerns over lack of national guidance on prescribing for hepatitis B reactivation

A patient died from complications from reactivation of hepatitis B, after the supply of viral reactivation prophylaxis was inadvertently discontinued.…

Published: 16 July 2026

News

NICE recommends non-invasive tests that could speed up endometriosis diagnoses

Two tests have been recommended for the detection of endometriosis: Endotest, which analyses a saliva sample, and Endosure, which measures electrical signals in the gut using sensor pads.…

Published: 7 July 2026

News

Health news round-up: relabelling prostate cancer, zoonotic diseases and e-cigarette chemicals

The Pharmaceutical Journal’s weekly summary of the important developments in pharmacy and health news you may have missed.…

Published: 3 July 2026

News

Call to reclassify morning-after pill as general sales list item

The College of Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare has called for emergency hormonal contraception to be sold in shops alongside condoms and pregnancy tests to increase women's autonomy over their reproductive health.…

Published: 2 July 2026