Emergency Prescription UK - What to Do If You Run Out of Medicine

What to do if you have run out of medicine

The steps below apply when your pharmacy is closed, you have run out of a regular medicine, and you cannot wait until the pharmacy reopens.

1. Call NHS 111 (111, free, 24 hours). This is always the first step for urgent medication needs outside GP surgery hours. A clinician — not just an advisor — will assess your situation, tell you whether your medicine can safely wait, and refer you to the most appropriate service if it cannot.
2. Ask your pharmacist for an emergency supply. If an on-call pharmacy is reachable, the pharmacist can provide a small quantity of certain repeat prescription medicines under their professional discretion powers (see below). Call before travelling to confirm they can help.
3. Consider a private GP video service. Several regulated private GP services operate 24 hours a day and can issue a private prescription digitally within minutes. You then collect the medicine from any open pharmacy at your own cost. This is a useful option when NHS pathways are stretched, but it does carry a consultation fee.

Emergency supply at a pharmacist’s discretion

Under Regulation 214 of the Human Medicines Regulations 2012, a pharmacist can lawfully supply a small quantity of a prescription-only medicine without a valid prescription if all of the following apply:

• The pharmacist is satisfied it is immediately necessary for the patient.
• A prescriber cannot be contacted without undue delay (for example, it is the middle of the night).
• The patient has previously been prescribed the medicine.
• The medicine is not a controlled drug listed in Schedule 1, 2, or 3 of the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001 (phenobarbital for epilepsy is the one Schedule 3 exception, subject to strict conditions).

The quantity supplied should be the smallest amount that will cover the patient until they can obtain a proper prescription. This is at the pharmacist’s professional discretion — they are not obliged to provide an emergency supply and may decline if they are not satisfied the criteria are met. You will be charged the standard NHS prescription charge (or privately, the cost of the medicine) for an emergency supply.

This is a different route from an urgent NHS 111 referral, where a clinician at NHS 111 refers you directly to an on-call pharmacy or out-of-hours GP with a formal authorisation. Both routes are valid; NHS 111 referral is generally more straightforward.

Lost or damaged prescription

If you have lost a paper prescription before having it dispensed, contact your GP surgery and explain the situation. Many practices can reissue the prescription electronically (via the NHS Electronic Prescription Service) the same day. If the surgery is closed, NHS 111 (111, free) can advise on your options, including whether the pharmacist can make an emergency supply.

Electronic prescriptions (where the prescription is sent digitally to a nominated pharmacy) cannot be “lost” in the traditional sense — but if you wish to change your nominated pharmacy, you’ll need to ask your GP to redirect it.

Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland

Urgent medication services differ slightly across the nations:

• Scotland: Call NHS 24 on 111 (free, 24 hours) — not NHS 111. NHS 24 is Scotland’s equivalent service and operates the same referral and clinical assessment pathways.
• Wales: Call NHS 111 Wales. The number is 111, free, and the service operates 24 hours. Wales has its own out-of-hours pharmacy rota arrangements.
• Northern Ireland: Out-of-hours GP services are accessed through your local GP out-of-hours service. Pharmacist emergency supply powers under the Human Medicines Regulations apply across the UK.

Finding an open pharmacy right now

If you need to locate an open pharmacy urgently, find an open pharmacy near you using Find a Pharmacy. The site shows real-time opening hours, 100-hour pharmacies, and bank holiday rota status so you can identify the nearest pharmacy that is currently open.