A pharmacist in England can examine you and hand over prescription medicine for seven named conditions, on the spot, without a doctor and without an appointment. The consultation itself costs nothing, even for a visitor, and the medicine costs £9.90 an item. Ring the branch before you walk over, because not every pharmacy offers the service.
For a traveller with a sore throat on a Sunday, that is the difference between a ten-minute errand and half a day lost. It is also the part of the British health system visitors know least about, because it did not exist in this form before 2024.
Our guide to healthcare for visitors sets out the whole system and who pays for what. This page is about the first door you should knock on, what happens behind it, and the rules on buying medicine over the counter that catch people out at the till.
Using a London pharmacy
- Appointment
- None needed, but phone ahead for a treatment consultation
- Cost of speaking to the pharmacist
- Free, including for overseas visitors
- Cost of an NHS prescription item
- £9.90, charged per item rather than per prescription
- Seen privately instead
- A private consultation produces a private prescription, priced by the pharmacy itself
- Antibiotics
- Never sold over the counter in Britain
- Painkiller pack sizes
- 16 tablets in a supermarket, up to 32 in a pharmacy, maximum two packs per purchase
- Finding one open
- NHS pharmacy finder by postcode, or ask NHS 111
- Out of your own medicine
- Use the emergency prescription route on 111 online, or ask at a pharmacy counter
What the counter actually looks like
A British pharmacy has two halves. The front is an ordinary shop selling toiletries, cosmetics and medicines you can pick off a shelf. The back has a raised dispensing counter, a queue, and somewhere near it a door marked as a consultation room.
You do not need to explain yourself to the shop assistant. The phrase that works is simply asking to speak to the pharmacist. You will either be seen at the counter or taken into the consultation room, which is a small private space with a chair, and the conversation is confidential in the same way a doctor's is.
Pharmacists in Britain are health professionals with a degree and a licence, not shop managers. They can examine a throat, look in an ear, take a swab, read the packaging of a medicine you brought from home and tell you what the British equivalent is. They can also tell you, firmly, to go somewhere else, which is a useful service in itself.
The seven conditions, and who qualifies
The service dates from the last day of January 2024. Most pharmacies in England may now hand over prescription-only medicine for a defined list of common problems, with no doctor involved at any stage. The age limits are part of the rule, not a guideline, and a pharmacist cannot stretch them.
| Problem | Who it covers | What to expect |
|---|---|---|
| Sore throat | From age 5 | A look at the throat and a score based on your symptoms; antibiotics only if it fits |
| Earache | Ages 1 to 17 only | An examination of the ear. Adults with earache are sent elsewhere |
| Sinusitis | From age 12 | Questions about how long it has lasted; often advice rather than medicine |
| Urinary tract infection | Women aged 16 to 64 | A symptom assessment; men and older women are referred on |
| Shingles | Adults only, 18 and over | Treatment works best early, so go the day the rash appears |
| Impetigo | From age 1 | A look at the skin; usually a cream |
| Infected insect bite | From age 1 | Worth knowing in summer; see our page on London in a heatwave |
If you fall outside a limit, the visit is not wasted: the pharmacist will tell you which service to use next, and can often book or direct you rather than leaving you to work it out. The NHS asks people to contact the pharmacy before going, because although most branches take part, some do not.
A sore throat on a Sunday afternoon is a solved problem in London. High-street pharmacies open on Sundays across the centre, the assessment is free whatever your nationality, and you walk out with the medicine rather than a piece of paper and an appointment for Tuesday. Phone first to check the branch runs the service.
What a visitor actually pays
The government's guidance for overseas visitors is unusually clear here: consultations in primary care, which includes a pharmacist's, are free of charge to everyone regardless of where they live. Nobody will ask for your passport to talk to a pharmacist.
The charge attaches to the medicine, not the advice. An NHS prescription item in England costs £9.90, and the NHS is emphatic that it attaches to each item separately, so a single form carrying three different medicines costs £29.70. Some items, such as contraception, are always free.
Two things follow for a visitor. First, if a pharmacy asks for £9.90 that is the standard national charge and not a tourist price. Second, a consultation paid for privately rather than taken on the NHS produces a private prescription, and the pharmacy then charges its own commercial price for the drug, which may be above or below £9.90 depending on what it is.
Your own eligibility for free prescriptions depends on age and circumstances, and the NHS now runs an online eligibility checker that asks your age, where you live and any conditions you have. Use it rather than assuming that an exemption from your own country carries over.
Pharmacies take cards, including contactless, so there is no need to find a machine first; our guide to card payments in Britain covers the limits, and our page on how much cash to bring explains where notes are still useful. Keep the receipt if you intend to claim on travel insurance.
Buying medicine off the shelf, and the quantity rules
The everyday painkiller in Britain is paracetamol, which is the same drug sold as acetaminophen in North America. Ibuprofen and aspirin are sold under their own names. All three are cheap, and supermarket own-brand packs cost a fraction of the branded ones sitting beside them on the same shelf.
What surprises visitors is the quantity. British law caps the pack size for these painkillers at 16 tablets or capsules in an ordinary shop, and at 32 in a pharmacy, where a pharmacist supervises the sale. It is illegal for anyone to sell you more than 100 tablets of paracetamol or aspirin in a single transaction without a prescription, and the medicines regulator's guidance asks retailers to hold the line at two packs per purchase and to avoid promotions that encourage buying more.
So the bottle of two hundred tablets you may be used to buying at home does not exist here. Buy a pack of 16 or 32, and buy another when you need it. Nobody will think anything of it.
Three other differences are worth knowing. Antibiotics are prescription-only in Britain and no pharmacy will sell them over the counter, however confident you are of the diagnosis. Several painkillers that are sold in supermarkets elsewhere are pharmacy-only here, and the pharmacist may ask what it is for before selling one. And the word for a pharmacy in everyday speech is a chemist, which our guide to British words for visitors covers along with the rest of the vocabulary.
Children, and the medicines to ask for
Children's liquid paracetamol and ibuprofen are sold in every pharmacy and supermarket, in age-banded bottles with a syringe or a spoon in the box. Read the age on the front: the doses differ sharply between an infant and a six-year-old, and the same brand name covers several strengths.
A pharmacist is the right first stop for a child with a cough, a rash you are unsure about or a temperature that is not alarming. Earache in a child is one of the seven conditions on the treatment list, which is useful because it is also one of the most common holiday complaints. Our family guide to London and our page on travelling to London with a baby cover the rest, including nappies and formula, which pharmacies also sell.
For a child under five, the NHS asks you to telephone 111 rather than using the website. For anything that frightens you, do not wait in a pharmacy queue: our page on emergency numbers in London lists what to call.
If you have run out of your own medicine
This is the most common reason a visitor needs a pharmacy, and there is a specific route for it.
There is an emergency prescription route built into 111 online. It asks about the medicine, your location and the timing of your next dose, then works out the quickest way to get you a supply, often by sending you to a particular pharmacy. A pharmacy can also supply certain emergency medicines without a prescription at its own discretion, although you may have to pay.
Make it easy for them. Bring the original box or the pharmacy label, with the drug's generic name on it rather than only a brand name from home, Add the prescription itself, or a signed note from the doctor who issued it. A photograph of the packaging on your phone is better than nothing, and needs a working connection, which our guide to SIM cards and roaming in the UK covers.
Controlled medicines are a different conversation entirely. Strong painkillers and some medicines for attention disorders and anxiety are tightly regulated in Britain, both at the border and at the pharmacy counter. Carry them in labelled packaging with your prescription, and check the rules before you fly; our guide to what you can bring into Britain explains the declaration.
Finding one open late, on a Sunday or on a bank holiday
Pharmacy hours in London vary more than almost any other kind of shop. Large branches on the main shopping streets and inside railway stations keep long hours and open on Sundays. Small neighbourhood chemists may close at lunchtime on a Saturday and not reopen until Monday. A handful of pharmacies in central London open very late, and one or two are open around the clock, but which ones and for how long changes, so we do not name them here.
The reliable method is the NHS pharmacy finder. Put in your hotel's postcode, and it lists the branches with their hours for each day. If it is late and nothing nearby looks open, ring 111 and ask: the service can tell you which pharmacy in your area is open now, including on a bank holiday when the ordinary rota does not apply.
Bank holidays are worth planning for, because a large part of London shuts. Our guide to opening hours and Sunday trading explains the pattern, and it applies to pharmacies too.
When the pharmacy is the wrong door
A pharmacist will send you on without hesitation, and it is worth knowing in advance where you will be sent. Chest pain, difficulty breathing, severe bleeding, stroke symptoms or a serious accident mean 999, immediately. A sprain, a cut that may need stitches or a suspected broken bone means an urgent treatment centre, which you can walk into without being registered anywhere. Anything in between, or anything at night, means 111.
The guide linked at the top of this page has the full table of which service fits which problem, and the rules on what hospital treatment costs someone from abroad. Our page on taxis and ride apps covers the quickest way to reach a hospital with a problem that is urgent but not an emergency. Do not let a pharmacy visit delay a hospital one.
What to pack so you never need any of this
A small kit removes most pharmacy visits from a trip: enough of your regular medicine for the whole stay plus a few spare days, in its labelled packaging; paracetamol or ibuprofen; plasters; something for an upset stomach; and rehydration sachets if you are travelling with children. Our list of what to pack for London covers the rest.
Two groups should take extra care. Visitors with a food allergy should read our guide to allergies and eating out in Britain before the first restaurant meal, and carry their own adrenaline device rather than relying on finding one. Older travellers and anyone with a long-term condition will find the practicalities in our guides to London for older visitors and accessible London.
None of this is a reason to worry about the city. Our page on how safe London is puts the health risks where they belong, which is a long way down the list.
Frequently asked questions
Can a pharmacist in London prescribe antibiotics?
For some conditions, yes. Under the Pharmacy First service most pharmacies in England can supply prescription-only medicine, including antibiotics where appropriate, for sore throat, earache in under-18s, sinusitis, urinary tract infections in women aged 16 to 64, shingles, impetigo and infected insect bites. You cannot buy antibiotics over the counter for anything else.
Does a tourist have to pay to see a pharmacist in England?
No. Consultations in primary care are free to everyone, whatever their nationality or where they live. What you pay for is the medicine: an NHS prescription item costs £9.90, charged for each item rather than each prescription. Medicines you simply buy off the shelf are priced as ordinary shop goods.
Why can I only buy 16 paracetamol tablets in a London supermarket?
British law limits the pack size for paracetamol, ibuprofen and aspirin to 16 tablets or capsules outside a pharmacy, and to 32 inside one under a pharmacist's supervision. Selling more than 100 tablets of paracetamol or aspirin in a single transaction without a prescription is illegal, and the regulator asks shops to stop at two packs.
I have run out of my regular medicine in London. What do I do?
Start with the emergency prescription route on 111 online, which asks your location and the timing of your next dose, then points you to a pharmacy. A pharmacy can also make an emergency supply of certain medicines without a prescription, and may charge for it. Take the original packaging and your own prescription with you.
How do I find a pharmacy open late in London?
Search the NHS pharmacy finder with your postcode and read the hours listed for the day you need, or call 111 and ask which pharmacy near you is open now. Hours vary a great deal between branches, and bank holidays follow a separate rota, so check on the day rather than relying on a list.
Sources
- NHS - How pharmacies can help (checked September 2026)
- NHS - NHS prescription charges (checked September 2026)
- NHS - Check if you can get free prescriptions (checked September 2026)
- NHS - Emergency prescriptions (checked September 2026)
- NHS - Find a pharmacy (checked September 2026)
- GOV.UK - NHS entitlements: migrant health guide (checked September 2026)
- MHRA - Best practice guidance on the sale of medicines for pain relief (March 2025) (checked September 2026)
- NHS England - Pharmacy First (checked September 2026)