NHSE Pharmacy Contraception Service
The Pharmacy Contraception Service (PCS) is an advanced service within the England NHS community pharmacy contract, which aims to
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Provide women with greater choice and access to contraception services.
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Create extra capacity in primary care and sexual health clinics (or equivalent) to support meeting the demand for more complex assessments
The PCS is intended to be a Tiered service with
- Tier 1 - Ongoing monitoring and supply of repeat oral contraception (OC) prescriptions.
- Tier 2 - Initiation of OC via a Patient Group Direction (PGD).
- Tier 3 - Ongoing monitoring and management of repeat long acting reversible contraceptives (LARCs), excluding intrauterine systems (IUS) and intrauterine devices (IUD).
- Tier 4 - Initiation of LARCs
Current service specification allows Community Pharmacy to deliver the Tier 1 service ONLY.
Tier 1 Service - Ongoing supply of Oral Contraceptives