Contraception

The NHS provides free access to contraception for all patients.

NHS Community Pharmacy Contraceptive Service

Many local community pharmacies now provide contraceptive services, including both initiation and maintenance of existing contraceptive methods. Some pharmacies offer walk-in services as well as appointments, providing additional capacity for these needs. Before contacting our surgery for contraception requests, we recommend considering one of these local pharmacies.

Pharmacy	Monitoring and continuation of existing contraception	Initiation of new contraception
Boots Market Place   0191 384 2213	Yes – Walk in and booked appointments	Yes – Walk in and booked appointments
Tesco Extra Dragonville   0345 677 9201	Yes – Booked Appointments Only	No
Sherburn Village Pharmacy 0191 372 0767	Yes – Booked Appointments Only	No

Alternatives

Alternatively, you can contact the surgery or the local Contraception and Sexual Health Clinic (CASH).

Telephone the CASH Clinic for Contraception

or

Contact the Surgery for Contraception

Emergency Contraception

Many people have sex without using contraception. Sometimes we can forget to use contraception properly or occasionally it can fail for other reasons. If you have had sex without using effective contraception and you are not trying for a baby, it may not be too late to prevent a pregnancy.

Emergency Contraception pills (sometimes called ‘the morning after pill’) must be taken within 72 hours (3 days) of having sex. These pills are most effective if taken within 12 hours. If more than 72 hours (3 days) have passed you may have other options. We can offer certain patients an emergency contraceptive pill which can be taken up to 5 days (120 hours) after sex. In some situations we may offer to fit an Intrauterine Device as emergency contraception which may be helpful if you also want to establish regular contraception.

As part of the Sexual Health Service they have over 100 community pharmacies signed up to deliver a free emergency contraception service to females aged 13 years or over in County Durham to prevent unintended conceptions. Click link below to see participating pharmacies in your area. It is advisable to check that a trained pharmacist is on site prior to attending.

Emergency Contraception Participating Pharmacies

Online Condoms Service Information

The free online condom service is available to any County Durham or Darlington resident aged 16 or over via the Sexual Health website.

The service offers a choice of condoms & each pack consists of 8 condoms, 2 sachets of lubricant, a sexual health service card & a link to an online survey for feedback. The orders are posted out in discreet packaging to the clients home address.

All clients between the ages of 13-15 are redirected to the C Card page of the website and advised to visit their nearest C Card outlet.

C Card Contraception Information

C Card is a condom distribution scheme that provides young people from 13-24 years old with a card which entitles them to free condoms. The C Card is a plastic card the same size as a credit
card. You can pick up free condoms from over 200 outlets throughout County Durham once you have completed some straightforward registration details. The scheme also gives young people access to sexual health information, advice and support.

If you would like a C Card you need to attend an outlet which offers C Card registration. If you
already have a C Card you can attend any outlet to pick up free condoms. For further information
on our C Card outlets click link Below:

C Card Information

Post Natal Condoms Information

The Sexual Health team have been working with maternity services to provide condoms to all post-natal patients on discharge.

From August 2023 each patient has been offered a pack containing six condoms and information cards on the Sexual Health Service, for more information on the Sexual Health Service click link below:

Sexual Health Services