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" Girls as young as 13 should be offered the contraceptive pill without a prescription, an NHS report has claimed. The report, compiled by NHS South East London following a pilot scheme among over-16s, suggests that young teenage girls should be able to get the pill at pharmacies without first obtaining a prescription. Trials carried out at five pharmacies across the boroughs of Southwark and Lambeth found that the number of women needing emergency contraception dropped &amp;#039;significantly&amp;#039; in the year following the introduction of the scheme. Users of the service welcomed its convenience and anonymity and the report authors have called for it to be rolled out across the country, including girls aged between 13 and 16. The recommendation has been criticised in some quarters, but community pharmacy association Pharmacy Voice pointed out that many pharmacies already provide a range of sexual health services on the NHS, ranging from contraception to treating sexually transmitted infections. Chief executive Rob Darracott said: &amp;#039;Pharmacists offer an accessible service, reaching out to people who might not want to visit their GP or a clinic but are nevertheless in need of advice and support from a healthcare professional.&amp;#039; He added that the advice and support given by pharmacists is no less professional than that provided in other health settings and that the scheme in south-east London &amp;#039;includes thorough clinical instructions and referral guidelines prepared by a senior doctor in conjunction with a senior pharmacist&amp;#039;. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/healthy-living/news/a22360/report-recommends-wider-access-to-contraceptive-pill/>