How To Get Out-of-hour Medications

If you run out of your medications during normal closing hours and need them urgently, there are a few ways you can get your emergency supply promptly, even if you are away from home.

If you have a prescription with you and urgently need the medications, try the below-mentioned steps:

• If your local pharmacy in UK is closed, use the NHS pharmacy service to find the nearby pharmacies and their working hours. Some of the community pharmacies are open until midnight and even on public holidays.

• If you want to speak to someone first, call NHS free of charge by dialling 111. The executive you speak to will help you find an out-of-hour pharmacy in UK or another NHS service in your area.

• You can try calling your GP in case of emergency. The GPs should have details of their out-of-hours service recorded on their communication machines. This is a service your doctor runs during the usual closing hours or on public holidays.

• In case of real emergency, use the NHS service search to find the nearest Accident & Emergency (A&E) unit.

If you require over-the-counter medicines such as an antacid or paracetamol and you do not find an open pharmacy, you can approach supermarkets, petrol stations or newsagents. These places have longer opening hours than local pharmacies.

If you do not have prescription to get prescription-only medicines during emergency, you may be able to get an urgent supply from a pharmacy in UK without a prescription. In such case, you will be interviewed by the medicine dispenser to find out whether there is indeed an immediate requirement of the medicine, whether you can be able to provide a prescription without much delay and whether the medication is prescribed by your doctor.

It is imperative for the pharmacist to be assured of all these things before supplying a prescription-only drug without a prescription. If the pharmacy is not satisfied with the answers, they may not supply the medication.

If you run out of medications while you are away from your home, you can have a consultation with a local GP and get a limited supply of your prescriptions. You need to check for a nearest pharmacy.