Pill-from-the-chemist plan defended

Under the plans, women and girls under 16 would be able to obtain the oral contraceptive after an interview with qualified pharmacists.

The Pill could end up on the same footing as the morning after pill, which is already available without direct authorisation from a doctor.

The Department of Health insisted that the plans would involve arrangements equivalent to prescribing. It said there were no plans to make oral contraception available "over the counter".

This would involve the manufacturers having to apply to the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) for the product to be reclassified, which has not happened.

Health minister Lord Darzi insisted "robust" standards would be put in place to ensure that staff were up to the job.

He later said in a statement: "What we might pilot is a process by which pharmacists or nurses carry out a full assessment process before supplying the Pill under arrangements equivalent to prescribing. At this stage there is no commitment to roll this out and we will need a full evaluation before we do."

According to the DoH, a senior clinician at strategic health authorities (SHAs) would issue instructions called patient group directions (PGDs) to suitably-trained people like pharmacists.

PGDs are documents which make it legal for medicines to be given to groups of patients. They enable pharmacists to consult with the patient and supply drugs without the need for individual prescriptions. These arrangements are currently in place for the morning-after pill.

A spokeswoman said there would need to be a separate direction to give the Pill to under-16s. This would include the pharmacist assessing whether the youngster was mentally competent and encouraging discussion with parents. Such rules currently apply to supplying the morning-after pill to under-16s at pharmacies.