How to find a pharmacy open now

Search, check the hours, then go.

The answer in 2 lines. Use the NHS "Find a pharmacy" search on nhs.uk: enter your postcode and check today's opening hours, including evenings, weekends and bank holidays. Some pharmacies are open late or 100 hours a week, often in supermarkets or large town centres. If everything is closed and you need medicine urgently, or you have run out of a prescribed medicine, use NHS 111 online or call 111. For chest pain, breathing difficulty, signs of a stroke or a serious injury, don't go to a pharmacy: call 999.

The 3 steps

Go to nhs.uk — Find pharmacy services, enter your postcode and open each result to see today's opening hours. Bank holiday hours are often different: check them.
Phone before you go late in the evening or on a bank holiday: hours can change at short notice, and the pharmacist may not have your medicine in stock.
Everything closed and it can't wait: NHS 111 online or by phone. They can arrange an emergency supply of a prescribed medicine or tell you where to go.

Stop: danger

Chest pain, difficulty breathing, collapse, fits, signs of a stroke (face drooping, arm weakness, slurred speech), severe bleeding: don't go to a pharmacy, call 999.
A child or adult has swallowed a medicine or chemical that wasn't meant for them: call 111 straight away (999 if they are drowsy, having trouble breathing or have collapsed). Have the packet with you.

What a pharmacist can do

Dispense your prescription, including one written the same day by an out-of-hours GP or A&E.
Advise and sell medicines for minor problems without a prescription.
Pharmacy First: in England, many pharmacies can assess and, if needed, give NHS treatment (including some prescription-only medicines such as antibiotics) for seven common conditions without a GP appointment: sinusitis, sore throat, earache, infected insect bites, impetigo, shingles, and uncomplicated urinary tract infections in women. Age limits apply. Details: NHS England — Pharmacy First. In September 2026 NHS England announced that five more conditions, including migraine and acne, are being added (NHS England announcement): phone the pharmacy to check what it offers.
Emergency supply: if you've run out of a regular prescribed medicine, a pharmacist can sometimes give you a few days' supply; NHS 111 can also arrange it through its emergency prescription service. More on nhs.uk — Where can I get an emergency supply of medicine?
They will refer you to a GP, NHS 111, urgent care or A&E if needed.

To make it quicker

Take your prescription (or the NHS App with your electronic prescription), and a list of the medicines you take.
Bring the box of the medicine you need, if you are after the same one.
For a child: their age and weight.

What not to do

Driving across town without checking the hours first, especially on Christmas Day, Boxing Day or Easter Sunday, when very few pharmacies open.
Buying prescription medicines from websites that are not registered: in Great Britain, check the pharmacy is registered with the General Pharmaceutical Council (how to check: GPhC — Online pharmacy).

How it works in England

There is no single on-call pharmacy rota number like in some countries: each pharmacy sets its hours within its NHS contract. On bank holidays, local NHS bodies (integrated care boards) publish lists of pharmacies that will open.
Prescription charge: £9.90 per item in England (frozen in April 2026, the second year running). Many people are exempt (under 16, 60 and over, pregnant, some medical conditions, some benefits). Prescriptions are free in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Out-of-hours doctor: NHS 111 directs you to the out-of-hours GP service, an urgent treatment centre or A&E as needed.
Scotland has NHS 24 (also on 111) and Pharmacy First Scotland; Wales has its own Common Ailments Service. The NHS England services above apply in England.

On a Sunday evening in Coventry, Leo has run out of his blood pressure tablets. He searches the NHS pharmacy finder: the nearest open pharmacy, in a supermarket, closes at 8 pm. He phones first, but the pharmacist can't reach his records. Leo goes on 111 online, which sends an emergency supply request to a pharmacy open until 10 pm.

A made-up story, for illustration.

The figures (latest published)

£9.90: NHS prescription charge per item in England, unchanged from April 2026 (Community Pharmacy England).
Pharmacy First: launched in England in January 2024; the NHS Business Services Authority publishes the monthly number of consultations (NHSBSA data). We have not quoted a 2026 total we could not confirm; full-year 2026 figures are not yet published.
111 and 999: free from any phone, 24 hours a day.

Useful numbers (England)

999: medical emergency.
111 or 111.nhs.uk: urgent medical help that isn't an emergency, out-of-hours GP, emergency supply of medicines.
Your usual pharmacist and GP for any question about a medicine during opening hours.

Bobby

Sources, verification, confidence

Verified on 1 November 2026, for England. Confidence: high for the NHS pharmacy finder, NHS 111, the emergency supply route and the seven Pharmacy First conditions; high for the £9.90 prescription charge in 2026/27; medium for the timing of the new Pharmacy First conditions announced in September 2026 (ask your pharmacy); opening hours change often: always check on the day. This guide describes common cases, not medical advice.