Run out of your medication? How to get an emergency supply in the UK

If you have run out: who to ask, and when it is an emergency

Running out is common, and there are set routes for it in every part of the UK. NHS England said in August 2026 that about 24,000 people in the South West alone used NHS 111 during May to get urgent repeat medication. Which route suits you depends on the time of day and where you live.

During opening hours, start with your pharmacist or your GP surgery. The NHS App's advice for England is to contact your GP surgery if you need your medicine urgently and, if it is out of hours, to use NHS 111 online or call 111. The NHS lists other routes in England too: a pharmacy, an urgent treatment centre after a consultation, and your GP surgery's out-of-hours details on its answerphone.

Some medicines matter more than others if a dose is missed. NHS England in the North West says running out of your usual medication can have serious consequences, especially if you use it to manage a heart condition, breathing problems, diabetes or epilepsy. If you take a medicine where a missed dose could be dangerous for you (your pharmacist or prescriber can tell you whether that applies), do not wait for the surgery to reopen: ask a pharmacist or call 111 now. In Northern Ireland, ask a pharmacist, and if you are unwell and your practice is closed, phone the GP out of hours service. If you have run out and also have symptoms, the NHS says to call 111 and speak to an adviser.

Call 999 for a life-threatening emergency. The NHS describes 999 as being for emergencies such as strokes and heart attacks, and NHS England lists signs including pain like a heavy weight in the centre of the chest, the face dropping on one side, difficulty breathing, seizures, and sudden, rapid swelling of the eyes, lips, throat or tongue. The NHS also says to go to A&E if it is an emergency: do not drive yourself, and take your medicines with you. If you are not sure what you need, 111 can check your symptoms and tell you what to do.

What a pharmacist can supply without a prescription

Under regulation 225 of the Human Medicines Regulations 2012, which applies across the UK, a pharmacist can sell or supply a prescription-only medicine at your request without a prescription. The pharmacist has to interview you and be satisfied of three things: that there is an immediate need and it is impracticable to get a prescription without undue delay; that a prescriber has prescribed this treatment for you on a previous occasion; and what dose would be appropriate for you.

It is a permission, not a right: the pharmacist can decline, as NHS 111 Wales and Community Pharmacy England both say. Take a repeat slip, or the labelled box or packaging, if you can; both name these as evidence of what you take.

The regulation sets maximum quantities. For most prescription-only medicines it is 30 days' treatment. For insulin, an aerosol inhaler for asthma, or a cream or ointment that comes ready-packed, it is the smallest pack the pharmacist has. For an oral contraceptive it is enough for a full treatment cycle, and for a liquid antibiotic the smallest quantity that gives a full course. For Schedule 4 and 5 controlled drugs, such as diazepam or co-codamol, it is five days' treatment. Community Pharmacy England's guidance for the NHS service tells pharmacists to supply a reasonable quantity that will last until you can see a prescriber, which can be less than the legal maximum.

Many controlled drugs cannot be supplied this way. Regulation 225 rules out any "product subject to special medical prescription", which regulation 213 defines as the Schedule 1, 2 and 3 controlled drugs, with one exception: phenobarbital for epilepsy. NHS and pharmacy sources give morphine, diamorphine, oxycodone, tramadol, gabapentin, pregabalin and temazepam as examples, and Northern Ireland's service specification lists ADHD medicines such as methylphenidate. A short list of other named substances, in Schedule 18 of the regulations, is excluded too.

The pharmacist must label what they supply "Emergency Supply" and keep a record. The regulation says nothing about price: the NHS website says pharmacies can provide certain emergency medicines without a prescription but you may need to pay, so ask what it will cost before you agree.

England: the NHS 111 route, and what it is called now

In England the NHS-organised route is the 111 online emergency prescription service, listed on the NHS 111 website as "Emergency prescriptions". It is for a medicine you are prescribed regularly through a repeat prescription and have completely run out of. It does not issue a prescription. It asks where you are and when you are due to take your medicine, and can send a request to a local pharmacy for a limited supply until you can organise your regular repeat. The NHS says it can be used for someone of any age. If your medicine is not on repeat, the NHS says to use 111 online or call 111 to discuss your options.

You pay your usual prescription fee, and if you do not usually pay, it is free. The service cannot be used to get antibiotics for a new or recent problem, or controlled drugs that need identification to collect.

Behind the scenes this is the urgent supply part of the NHS Pharmacy First service, which builds on the Community Pharmacist Consultation Service (October 2019) and the earlier NHS Urgent Medicine Supply Advanced Service (NUMSAS), so you may still see those older names on notices.

Community Pharmacy England's guidance for pharmacies fills in the rest. Referrals come from NHS 111, 999 services and urgent and emergency care providers, not GP practices, and you cannot walk in and use this part of the service without one. Phone the pharmacy before you go. The pharmacist still decides, within the regulation 225 limits. If the pharmacy does not have your medicine, it should offer to refer you to one that does; if it cannot supply, for example a Schedule 2 or 3 controlled drug, the pharmacist should contact your GP practice or the out-of-hours GP service for you rather than send you back to 111. Pharmacies are not expected to deliver, so if you cannot travel, someone you trust can collect it with your consent. A pharmacist supplying because you simply walked in is using regulation 225 and may charge, so ask first.

Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland: what is different

Scotland. NHS inform says that if you run out and your GP practice is closed, you should speak to a community pharmacist, who may be able to supply the medicine you urgently need, and NHS 24's 111 service can help if your practice or pharmacy is closed. Scottish pharmacists have a national arrangement for the urgent provision of current prescribed medicines for people registered with a Scottish GP practice: the pharmacist decides, and can supply up to one normal prescribing cycle. People from elsewhere in the UK are dealt with under the general emergency supply rules above. Prescriptions in Scotland are free.

Wales. NHS 111 Wales says that when your GP surgery is closed (for example weekday evenings, weekends and bank holidays), some pharmacies offer a free Emergency Medicines Supply Service for people who cannot wait until the surgery reopens. You must go in person, not send someone, and bring proof that you take the medicine, such as a labelled empty packet or a repeat slip; phone first to check the pharmacy offers the service and has your medicine. It covers most prescription medicines but not controlled drugs, and the pharmacist decides. Find one in the NHS 111 Wales directory by filtering for Emergency Medicines Supply (EMS), or use its Accessing Medicines guide. A pharmacy outside the scheme can still make an emergency supply in some circumstances but may charge. Prescriptions from a GP in Wales are free.

Northern Ireland. Health and Social Care's service specification, which took effect on 1 October 2022 and is still the version the HSC Business Services Organisation publishes, says every community pharmacy must offer an emergency supply service during its opening hours, under regulation 225. It is for people registered, permanently or temporarily, with a GP practice in Northern Ireland who have had the medicine on prescription from their own practice before. The pharmacist decides, and the service excludes Schedule 2 and 3 controlled drugs and Schedule 4 Part 1 ones such as diazepam, zopiclone and zolpidem. People not registered with a Northern Ireland GP fall outside the service and should expect to pay. All prescriptions dispensed in Northern Ireland are free. nidirect says the GP out of hours service is not for repeat prescriptions; outside cities and larger towns, pharmacies run a weekend and public holiday rota.

If you normally live in one part of the UK and run out in another, say so at the pharmacy. The Scottish and Northern Irish arrangements are tied to registration with a GP in that nation, so you may be supplied under the general rules instead, and charged.

Ordering ahead: how early, and by which route

The NHS says it is important to request a repeat prescription up to 5 working days before you need your medicine, and its emergency prescriptions page says to usually allow 5 working days to request the prescription and get the medicine. Be Ready, the government campaign launched on 22 October 2026, uses the same figure. In a normal week that means ordering when you still have about a week's supply left, so the new supply is ready before the old one runs out. It does not mean keeping extra medicine.

Allow longer around bank holidays: working days exclude weekends and bank holidays, so each one pushes your order date earlier. Ahead of Easter 2026, NHS England in the North West asked for at least 6 working days. NHS 111 Wales says to order at least seven days before you need a medicine, and Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board asks for 7 days, adding that each surgery has its own arrangements. A Health and Social Care leaflet in Northern Ireland suggests about 7 days before you run out. Ask your own surgery how long it takes.

In England you can order through the NHS App or the NHS website (you must be 13 or over and registered at a GP surgery in England), through other GP online services, or by contacting the surgery, and you can choose which pharmacy it goes to. The NHS App may not let you request a medicine you asked for too recently, or some controlled medicines, so contact the surgery for those. In Wales, Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board recommends the NHS Wales App. In Northern Ireland, you can order online if your practice offers GP online services (some do not). In Scotland, your practice will advise, and your pharmacist can tell you if a repeat collection service is available.

If your medicines are regular and do not change, ask your GP or pharmacist about repeat dispensing, so you do not have to order each time. In England, electronic repeat dispensing lets your GP send a series of repeat prescriptions, covering up to 12 months, to your chosen pharmacy in one go. In Scotland, serial prescriptions through the Medicines, Care and Review Service last 24, 48 or 56 weeks, and in Northern Ireland repeat dispensing can run for up to a year.

Going away? NHS England in the North West says to order any repeat prescriptions that are due before you go on holiday. If you cannot get out, someone else can collect your prescription for you with your consent.

Delivery to your door, and how to check an online pharmacy

The NHS says some pharmacies may offer delivery, and suggests speaking to your local pharmacy to find out what it offers. There are also online-only pharmacies registered with the NHS, which ask for your name, age and your GP surgery's address so they can get your prescription; the NHS publishes a list, and Pharmacy2U is one of them. Pharmacy2U's own FAQ says its NHS prescription service is for anyone registered with a GP in England, that delivery of NHS prescriptions is free, and that it accepts prescription prepayment certificates and exemptions, so the usual NHS charge applies unless you are exempt. If your GP is in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland, ask your own pharmacy about delivery instead. This is information, not a recommendation: Pharmacy2U itself recommends requesting 10 working days ahead and says it aims to have the order with Royal Mail within 5 days, so a delivered repeat suits a planned order rather than a last-minute gap.

Check any online pharmacy before you use it. All pharmacies in Great Britain, including online ones, must be on the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) register. Find the registration number on the website, usually under "About us" or at the foot of the homepage, then search for it on the GPhC register. If the pharmacy is not listed, do not use it. Do not rely on a badge: the GPhC's own internet pharmacy logo scheme closed to new applications in June 2025 and was removed from its register on 31 December 2025, so a logo on a website is not proof of registration.

In Northern Ireland, websites selling medicines must also show the Distance Selling Logo on every page offering them (it has not been required in Great Britain since 1 January 2021), and nidirect suggests checking the Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland and GPhC registers. The MHRA has a tool that checks a website against its list of sites known to sell medicines illegally, and a form to report one. Warning signs listed by the GPhC include selling prescription medicines without asking for a prescription, payment in cryptocurrency, no physical address, and exaggerated claims such as "100% safe" or "no side effects".

No stockpiling, a written list, and fridge medicines

The official advice is not to stockpile. The Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England ask pharmacy and GP teams to advise patients not to ration or stockpile medication, because it could affect their own treatment or other people's. Their patient leaflet says to order in advance, ideally while you still have medication, but to avoid ordering more than you need until your next prescription, and nidirect says the same. So the buffer is ordering early, not keeping months of spare. If you are worried about a trip, a bank holiday or winter, ask your surgery or pharmacist what suits you. Our medicine shortages guide covers what to do when a medicine is hard to get.

Be Ready suggests writing down a list of any regular medication and doses, with important phone numbers, on paper somewhere easy to find in a power cut. Add your GP surgery's and usual pharmacy's names and numbers, because a pharmacist making an emergency supply may ask where you normally get your prescription, and keep your repeat slip and labelled boxes, which pharmacists use to confirm what you take. A photo of each label on your phone is a useful backup (our suggestion, not an NHS requirement). If you add medical details to your phone's emergency or Medical ID screen, Be Ready reminds you that anyone with access to the phone could see them. Keep the list with your documents and your emergency kit; our household emergency plan guide covers the rest of the paperwork, and the kit builder works out the rest of the Be Ready list for your home.

Medicines that need a fridge, such as insulin, have their own storage rules, and our guide to insulin and fridge medicines in a power cut sets out the NHS temperature windows. If you rely on powered medical equipment, read running medical equipment in a power cut and check whether you can join the Priority Services Register.

What not to do

Do not borrow or share medicine. nidirect's advice is to take only the medicines prescribed for you. If you are short, the routes above are there for exactly that.

Do not change your dose, ration your supply or stop taking a medicine to make it last. nidirect says to continue taking your medicine as prescribed; any change should come from your pharmacist, GP or prescriber.

Do not buy prescription medicines from a website or seller that is not on the GPhC register, or from any seller that does not ask for a prescription. The MHRA's #FakeMeds campaign warns that fake prescription medicines not only fail to work but can also make you sick.

Do not leave it until the last dose. Ordering while you still have some left is what keeps a shortage, a storm or a bank holiday from turning into an emergency.