How 24/7 pharmacies help to fill after-hours health gaps

On 1 June 2025, Adelaide’s fourth 24/7 pharmacy opened to provide further around-the-clock access to pharmacist care and expert advice for the community.

Terry White Chemmart Hallett Cove was officially unveiled as a 24/7 pharmacy – joining three others in Adelaide to offer non-urgent care outside usual hours – by PSA SA/NT President Dr Manya Angley FPS, Premier Peter Malinauskas, Treasurer Stephen Mullighan, Health Minister Chris Picton, and Member for Black Alex Dighton.

‘You never know when you’ll need health advice, medicines or support, Dr Angley said. ‘Having 24-hour access to pharmacist advice is a game changer for so many South Australians … meaning more people can access pharmacist services, from treatment for uncomplicated urinary tract infections, to palliative care medicines to mental health first aid.’

Terry White Chemmart Hallet Cove joins a number of pharmacies around Australia operating around the clock, including:

• Adelaide, SA
• Sydney, NSW
• Bendigo, VIC.

Australian Pharmacist spoke with three pharmacists from across Australia who provide 24/7 pharmacy care to highlight just how vital this service is for communities.

Expanding 24/7 access in metropolitan Adelaide

National Pharmacies Norwood, located in central metropolitan Adelaide, became South Australia’s first community pharmacy to operate 24/7 last year under a State Government initiative aimed at reducing unnecessary presentations to busy hospital emergency departments (EDs).

Since opening as a 24/7 pharmacy in February 2024, National Pharmacies Norwood has already supported over 28,500 South Australians with vital after-hours care, said Pharmacist in Charge Jeremy Sparks.

‘We’ve dispensed more than 19,000 prescriptions, facilitating timely access to time-sensitive [medicines] such as antibiotics and analgesics for recently discharged or diagnosed patients, or just helping people who didn’t realise they were out of their regular medications until they went to reach for a pill that wasn’t there,’ he said.

‘We’ve also fielded around 4,000 calls, with most calls seeking advice on medication interactions, general medicines advice e.g. how to take, when to take, and if they should be worried about adverse effects), and the wide range of minor ailments we see in pharmacies every day, including bites, burns, rashes, gastrointestinal upsets and nausea.’

The highest demand out-of-hours prescriptions include inhalers for respiratory conditions, antibiotics and pain relief. 

‘We like to think that providing timely access to medicines and analgesia has helped to prevent infections from progressing, and prevent or treat asthma attacks to reduce the amount of people presenting to EDs for easily preventable causes,’ Mr Sparks said. 

‘Just recently we had a new mum discharged from hospital with her baby, and a parent needing antibiotics for a child’s ear infection. These are both situations where prompt access to their prescriptions improved outcomes.’

The team also fields a high volume of patient queries on minor wounds. 

‘They can dress these wounds or assess and give recommendations about whether a visit to the hospital is really necessary.’

One of Norwood’s pharmacists encountered one of the strangest nights at the 24/7 pharmacy, where three patients who had all been on a flight from Sydney which ran late came in at separate intervals during the night.

‘The pilot decided to take off quickly from Sydney so they wouldn’t miss the Adelaide Curfew, which unfortunately resulted in all their luggage being left behind,’ he said. 

‘The first patient came in with eScripts to fill, the second thankfully just needed contact solution and a toothbrush, and the third was an elderly man with his son who needed his medication but had no scripts.’

With a speedy referral to a telehealth service, the Doctor immediately sent through eScripts for the elderly patient’s blood pressure and glaucoma medications. 

‘And we were able to get him sorted without any missed doses.’

Sydney’s only hub for after-hours pharmacy support

As Sydney’s only remaining 24-hour pharmacy, Chemistworks in Wetherill Park is always on hand to field late-night calls and in-person health queries, said Pharmacist Manager Lachlan Menouhos.

‘Once they know we’re open and they can get scripts filled all hours of the night, people who have been discharged from hospital come from all over Sydney – from the city to Campbelltown, Camden and the North Shore,’ he said.

A key service the pharmacy fulfills is an over-the-phone triage service – typically for older patients who need medicines advice or abnormal symptoms.

‘They call back the next day and they say, “thank you for referring me to the ED. It was a stomach ulcer or elevated blood pressure”.’

In terms of foot traffic, families typically benefit from the late-night service. 

‘We see a lot of sick children after hours,’ Mr Menouhos said. ‘Often it’s parents who have been working during the day and couldn’t get to the doctor. They will get nappies, formula, and children’s Panadol and Nurofen.’

The after-hours service is greatly valued by the community. In 2023, 553 Chemistworks Wetherill Park customers completed a survey, finding that:

• 87% of respondents have used the 24-hour after-hours service (10.00 pm – 8.00 am)
• 94% find the after-hours service valuable
• 41% would go to the hospital for urgent care if the pharmacy wasn’t open.

Providing after-hours Opioid Dependence Treatment (ODT) has also helped many patients maintain their daily routines, improving their quality of life.

‘We’ve adjusted our dosing hours to start from 2.00 am in the morning, giving clients on ODT an opportunity to be dosed on methadone and hold down a job,’ he said. 

The majority of ODT clients come early mornings before work, which has led to the pharmacy becoming a referral place from dosing clinics such as public health units.

Prescribing Pharmacist Only medicines is also par for the course, particularly emergency contraception – which patients come through for ‘every night’.

‘At 3.00 am or 4.00 am, when these incidents happen, people seek timely access to medicines, so it helps that we are available,’ Mr Menouhos said.

Other Pharmacist Only medicines patients request include cold and flu tablets and famciclovir – which must be initiated as soon as possible to prevent an outbreak of cold sores.

‘Ventolin is also well-stocked for when patients have asthma attacks or flare ups,’ he said.

Self-funded after-hours service in regional Victoria

Bendigo UFS After Hours Pharmacy in Victoria operated as a supercare pharmacy open 24/7 until the state government stopped funding the service in 2024. As the only supercare pharmacy operating in the area, the pharmacy decided to self-fund longer opening hours from 7.00 am until 11.00 pm 7 days per week, said former Pharmacist Manager Mohamed Bassuny MPS.

‘We covered a large demographic area, seeing patients as far as 60–70 kilometers away,’ he said. ‘So we decided to extend hours of service for the community, particularly with both Urgent Care Clinics and EDs being functional. You have to have a point of access for medication for these two services.’

As a ‘full scope’ pharmacy, the team prescribes medicines for patients under the Victorian Community Pharmacist Statewide Pilot, which was recently made permanent.

‘When patients experience a severe UTI, we could provide a consultation, and prescribe and dispense, as well as analgesia, so they could have relief overnight,’ Mr Bassuny said.

‘If the patient went to the ED, they would have to wait long hours and only be able  to get their medication dispensed the next day – as there is no pharmacy operating in the hospital overnight.’

Sometimes, the care that late-night pharmacies provide is life saving.

‘I had a patient come in with symptoms of a stroke – including heartburn and a tingling in the left arm – and they didn’t know what’s going on,’ he said.

After triaging the patient, Mr Bassuny called an ambulance.

‘Often patients push through until the next morning – but this is a critical time and can mean the difference between life and death,’ he said. ‘The patient came at a later time to thank us and said, “If you hadn’t done that, the situation would have been much more serious”.’