Eltham Pharmacies: How to Find One Open Late or on a Sunday, and What Pharmacy First Covers

Opening times vary by branch and change, so check each pharmacy's listing before you go. What we can give you is the official way to check, and what the NHS says pharmacists can do.

How do I find a pharmacy that is open now?

Use the NHS find a pharmacy service. Enter an SE9 postcode, or your location, and open the listing for each pharmacy to see its opening times. The NHS's pharmacies page also lets you look for pharmacies offering certain services, such as free blood pressure checks and the contraceptive pill without a prescription. If it is outside normal hours and you are unsure where to go, NHS 111 (online at 111.nhs.uk or by phone on 111) can point you to an open service.

What about Sundays and bank holidays?

NHS England publishes bank holiday opening information for London pharmacies on its London pharmacy opening hours page. When we read it, the page covered Easter 2026 and linked to a commissioned rota of pharmacies open over that period, and pointed readers to the NHS pharmacy finder. Check that page before each bank holiday, because the rota is published per holiday. The same page says that if pharmacy services are not available, you can contact your GP practice or NHS 111.

What can a pharmacist help with without an appointment?

The NHS's page on how pharmacies can help says pharmacists give advice on a range of illnesses such as coughs, colds, sore throats, ear infections and aches and pains, and on how to use medicines and their side effects. Under Pharmacy First, the NHS says pharmacies can supply prescription medicines, without you seeing a GP, for these conditions:

• impetigo (age 1 and over)
• infected insect bites (age 1 and over)
• earache (ages 1 to 17)
• sore throat (age 5 and over)
• sinusitis (age 12 and over)
• urinary tract infections in women (ages 16 to 64)
• shingles (age 18 and over)

Pharmacists can also suggest non-prescription treatments, offer up to three appointments about a newly prescribed medicine, and provide services including blood pressure checks, chlamydia screening, smoking cessation support and weight management advice. Not every pharmacy offers every service.

When is a pharmacy not enough?

For serious symptoms, or when you are not sure how urgent something is, go to NHS 111 or an urgent care service. Dial 999 in an emergency. If you need a GP, see our GP surgeries guide.