Community Pharmacy England (CPE) guidance on revisions to the NHS pharmacy contraception service (PCS) has revealed that oral contraception (OC) cannot be offered for the management of acne or bleeding.
“The service specification now clarifies that provisions of OC can only be made to individuals where the requirement is for contraceptive purposes,” it said in a briefing published last week (September 1).
“The inclusion criteria for the service do not include other uses such as the management of bleeding [or] management of acne,” it added.
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According to CPE, the patient group directions (PGDs) – which provide the “legal framework for supplies” – cannot be used to provide OC for uses other than contraception.
Pharmacies should instead refer any patients “seeking oral contraceptives for other conditions” to their GP practice, it explained.
“Integrated sexual health service”
The guidance also said that the inclusion of oral emergency contraception (EC) in the PCS – set to roll out next month – will provide an “integrated sexual health service” from a pharmacy “with no requirement [for patients] to be registered with a GP”.
This will “further support tackling health inequalities through providing wider access to contraception services” and will help “high-risk communities and vulnerable individuals”, CPE added.
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It comes after the negotiator last week revealed timings for the start of the free morning-after pill rollout.
The rollout of free oral EC in pharmacies is due to launch on October 29, CPE said, but noted that the date is “provisional” and that NHS England (NHSE) will confirm “commencement dates nearer the time”.
This is “subject to receiving confirmation that the necessary changes to the clinical IT systems will be made on schedule”, it added.
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The government announced that the morning-after pill will become “available free of charge at pharmacies on the NHS for the first time ever” as part of its new funding deal in March.
National Pharmacy Association (NPA) then-chair Nick Kaye stressed at the time that the body had “long called for national commissioning of EC”, adding that it was “good news for patients and pharmacies alike”.
