Children collecting and purchasing medicines 

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Pharmacy guide

This guide is to help pharmacists with requests from children to collect dispensed medicines or purchase medicines.

Requests from children can be for themselves or someone else, such as a parent, relative, neighbour or for a person they care for.

Pharmacists will need to decide on each request based on the individual circumstances and on a case by case basis. The factors to consider in this guide will help you to exercise your professional judgement.

First Published: 06 October 2016
Updated: 10 January 2023

Sections on this page

  • Knowledge of the child
  • Maturity of the child
  • Nature of the medicine(s) supplied
  • Prior arrangement
  • Reason for collection
  • Advising on the use of medicines
  • Local policies
  • Proof of identity
  • Further information

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