Choice Ireland

www.irishhealth.com
30th August 2010
by Niall Hunter, Editor

The Irish Pharmacy Union (IPU) has backed a call from Choice Ireland for the morning after pill to be made available without a doctor's prescription.

Choice Ireland, a group of pro-choice activists, has called for emergency contraception to be made available-over- the-counter (OTC) after a report that a GP in Co. Kerry refused to prescribe it on "religious and ethical" grounds.

The IPU said pharmacists have the skills and competencies to dispense hormonal contraceptives and provide appropriate advice and counselling to such patients.

Meath pharmacist Kathy Maher said it was important that patients get timely access to emergency hormonal contraception, butmany often find it difficult to get a prescription at the weekend and come into pharmacies urgently looking for the morning-after pill.

She said the morning-after pill should not be the only form of contraception used and pharmacists could also refer patients back to their GP, where appropriate, for a consultation on their contraceptive choices once the morning after pill has been dispensed.

The IPU pointed out that a study published in the British Medical Journal after patients in the UK were enabled to access emergency hormonal contraception directly from pharmacists found that it did not appear to have led to an increase in its use or to a decrease in the use of other forms of contraception.