A reliable pharmacy is one of those neighbourhood essentials you only appreciate when you desperately need one at 7pm on a Friday. Hampstead is reasonably well served — here's where locals actually go.
Boots — Heath Street
The Boots on Heath Street is the area's largest pharmacy, with a full dispensary, a wide range of over-the-counter medicines, and a dedicated consultation room for private appointments. Opening hours are Monday–Saturday 9am–6pm, Sunday 10am–4pm. They offer NHS prescription dispensing, a Boots Advantage Card scheme, and a range of health screening services including blood pressure checks and cholesterol testing. Useful for stocking up, but queues at peak times can be long.
Well Pharmacy — Belsize Park
This independently operated Well Pharmacy branch on England's Lane is a quieter alternative, often praised by locals for the attentiveness of its pharmacists. They offer the full range of NHS services including the Pharmacy First scheme (minor ailment consultations without a GP appointment), emergency hormonal contraception, and travel vaccinations. Hours are Monday–Friday 9am–6.30pm, Saturday 9am–5pm.
LloydsPharmacy — South End Road
For those in the south of Hampstead closest to Belsize Park, the LloydsPharmacy on South End Road is convenient and reliably stocked. It's also one of the few pharmacies in the area open until 7pm on weekdays — useful for collecting prescriptions on the way home.
When the Pharmacies Are Closed
If you need medication outside of opening hours, the nearest 24-hour pharmacy is Zafash Pharmacy in Earl's Court (233–235 Old Brompton Road). Alternatively, the Royal Free Hospital has an on-site pharmacy accessible to the public during opening hours. For advice when pharmacies are closed, call NHS 111.
Tip: Pharmacy First
All NHS pharmacies now offer the Pharmacy First service — meaning you can walk in and see a pharmacist without a GP appointment for seven common conditions including earache, sore throat, sinusitis, and UTIs. This saves days of waiting and is completely free on the NHS. Worth remembering before you try to get a GP appointment.
## The Hampstead pharmacies that matter Boots on Hampstead High Street is the biggest branch in the village and the one that carries the widest stock of prescription and over-the-counter medicines. The pharmacy counter at the back handles prescriptions from roughly 9am to 8pm weekdays, 9am to 6pm Saturday, 11am to 5pm Sunday. Repeat prescription service available through the Boots app — order on Monday, collect on Wednesday typically. A small consultation room handles flu jabs, travel vaccinations, and private GP referrals. Paydens on Rosslyn Hill is the nearest thing Hampstead has to an old-fashioned community pharmacy. Family-owned, small, with a pharmacist who will actually answer your question about whether you can take two medications together. Opening hours are shorter than Boots (9am to 6:30pm weekdays, 9am to 5pm Saturday, closed Sunday) but the service is noticeably better. Free blood pressure checks; chat with the pharmacist about sleep, pain management, or minor ailments without an appointment. The Hampstead Pharmacy on South End Road covers the south side of the village. Smaller than Paydens, but useful if you are near the Royal Free. Handles Royal Free prescriptions directly — they will fax through to the hospital dispensary for controlled medicines. ## Prescription delivery All three Hampstead pharmacies offer free local delivery for regular customers. Boots requires you to sign up for the delivery service online; Paydens and Hampstead Pharmacy arrange it informally if you ask. Delivery is usually next working day. For housebound patients, the Royal Free Hospital's discharge pharmacy can arrange a one-off Royal Mail delivery of discharge medications if you request it before you leave. ## Out-of-hours and 24-hour pharmacies Hampstead itself has no 24-hour pharmacy. For urgent prescriptions between 10pm and 8am, the nearest 24-hour pharmacy is Zafash on Old Brompton Road (Earls Court); 35 minutes by night bus or 20 minutes by taxi. Between 8pm and 10pm, Boots on the High Street is your best option. NHS 111 can also arrange for an out-of-hours prescription to be dispensed at the Royal Free's on-site pharmacy for patients treated at the Royal Free A&E. ## What the pharmacists can treat directly Under the NHS Pharmacy First scheme, Hampstead pharmacists can now treat a defined list of common conditions without a GP referral: sinusitis, sore throat, earache (in children), urinary tract infections (in women), impetigo, shingles, and insect bites. All three village pharmacies are signed up. Walk in, request Pharmacy First, wait for the pharmacist. No appointment required; usually seen within 15 minutes. The consultation and any resulting prescription are free on the NHS. ## Travel clinic and vaccinations Boots on the High Street offers a full travel vaccination service — yellow fever, hepatitis, typhoid, rabies. Book a consultation through the Boots website. A travel health review is £30; individual vaccinations vary (around £55 for a standard Hepatitis A, around £175 for yellow fever). Flu jabs are free on the NHS for eligible groups (over 65, pregnant women, certain conditions) and available at all three pharmacies without an appointment in September to November.