PHARMACY CHAIN Boots is to sell the emergency ‘morning after’ contraceptive pill over the counter from Wednesday – the first time that the pill will be made available in Ireland without a prescription.
Until now, the pill was only available by prescription after a consultation with a GP, but the British-owned chain says a direction from a patient group has given it legal clearance to administer the drug without such a consultation.
Instead, Boots’ medical director will now be empowered to instruct non-doctors on administering the drug – effectively meaning that the drug will be available on demand from Wednesday morning.
The decision has been criticised by the Irish College of General Practitioners, which said the over-the-counter service would raise concerns about the ‘quality and continuity’ of care, RTÉ reports.
If they were visiting a GP, women could be offered more advice about contraception and sexually admitted diseases.
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