The morning-after pill is available without prescription from all of our pharmacies as a walk-in service. The below online order service is now available in all McCartan's Pharmacies for in-store collection.

WHAT IS THE MORNING AFTER PILL?

The emergency contraceptive pill (often called the “morning after pill”) is a pill that you can take after unprotected sex to prevent pregnancy. The morning after pill is available directly from a pharmacy without a doctor’s prescription to those over 17 years of age, subject to meeting certain criteria.

HOW WILL THE PILL BE SUPPLIED?

Our Pharmacists have been trained to treat requests for emergency contraception professionally and confidentially. The pharmacist will need to ask a few simple questions before giving you the medication. This will help the pharmacist ensure that the morning after pill is suitable for you to use. If for any reason it is not suitable, the pharmacist will direct you to another source for help and support.

Some of the reasons it may not be suitable to supply emergency contraception include:

  • Too much time has passed for the medicine to be effective
  • You are taking other medicines that interact with emergency contraception
  • You have an existing medical condition that means it is not safe to take emergency contraception
  • Your last period was irregular in some way

Emergency contraception can be effective up to 5 days (120 hours) after unprotected sex but it is important to take it as soon as possible as the quicker you take it the more effective it works.

ONLINE ORDER FORM

Please complete the form for your chosen pharmacy, the pharmacy will then review your form and then contact you when it is ready for collection. The patient must collect the medication in the pharmacy in person with a form of identification.