Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether GPs in England and Wales obtain any advantage by prescribing oral contraceptive pills one month at a time.

It is the responsibility of general practitioners (GPs) to determine whether a repeat prescription for specific oral contraceptive pills is appropriate and whether to prescribe oral contraceptive pills (OCP) for one month at a time. GPs gain no advantage from prescribing for one month. GPs prescribe OCP for one month if the patient making the demand, usually through the telephone, does not have a recent record of their blood pressure with the practice.

The Faculty of Sexual and Reproductive Health developed the United Kingdom Medical Eligibility Criteria for Contraceptive Use, which helps clinicians decide what contraceptives they can safely recommend based on the medical conditions of patients in their care.

Primary care in Wales is a devolved matter.