Finchley Memorial Hospital pharmacy closing 30 Aug: act by 28th

The pharmacy inside Finchley Memorial Hospital will close permanently on Sunday 30 August 2026, and anyone who collects prescriptions there has until Friday 28 August to pick up outstanding medicines and to move their nomination to another pharmacy, according to the closure notice published by Fairview Pharmacy, which runs the branch.

The notice is unambiguous on the deadlines. Friday 28 August is the last day for new prescription orders and the last day to collect. The branch opens on Saturday 29 and Sunday 30 August from 10am to 4pm, but only to hand over items already dispensed. Anything not collected by 30 August “cannot be held for you and will need to be prescribed again”.

The pharmacy sits inside the community hospital on Granville Road, N12 0JE, whose services are provided by the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust, according to the NHS hospital listing. Fairview’s Edgware branch, Fairview Pharmacy and Travel Clinic, is unaffected and stays open as normal.

The dates

• Until Friday 28 August: open as usual, Monday to Friday 9am to 6pm, Saturday and Sunday 10am to 4pm.
• Friday 28 August: last day for new prescription orders and the last day to collect medicines already prepared.
• Saturday 29 and Sunday 30 August, 10am to 4pm: collections only, for items already dispensed. No new orders.
• Sunday 30 August: final day of opening. After this the branch is closed for good.

The nomination trap

The detail most likely to catch people out is electronic prescribing. If your GP surgery sends prescriptions to Fairview at the hospital electronically, they will keep going there after it closes unless you change the nomination yourself. The pharmacy’s own wording: “If you do not, your next prescription may be sent to a pharmacy that is closed.”

You can change your nominated pharmacy in two ways: ask your GP surgery reception, or do it yourself in the NHS App under prescriptions. The pharmacy asks patients to do this before 30 August. Repeat prescriptions already sent to Fairview should be collected by the 28th.

Fairview says patients with questions can call the branch on 020 8346 0707 or email Finchley@fairviewpharmacy.co.uk.

What we could and could not confirm

The pharmacy’s notice gives the dates and the practical instructions but not the reason for the closure. The commissioning decision behind it sits with the NHS integrated care board, and Barnet Live has not been able to read a first-party statement from the board on its website; we will report the reasoning when we can source it directly. What is confirmed is the closure itself and every date above, all of which come from the pharmacy’s own published notice.

What it means for you

• Collect by Friday 28 August. Do not rely on the weekend: it is collections only, and only for items already dispensed.
• Re-nominate now. Use the NHS App or ask your surgery to send prescriptions somewhere else. Use the NHS find-a-pharmacy service to check opening hours at the nearest alternatives before you choose one, especially if you depend on Sunday or evening opening.
• Order early. If a repeat prescription is due in the last week of August, order it in time to collect on or before the 28th, or have it sent to the new pharmacy from the start.
• The notice concerns the pharmacy only. Nothing in it refers to any other service at the hospital.
• Getting there for the last collections: the hospital is on Granville Road, N12 0JE, in North Finchley; check the Barnet roadworks and travel page and the Barnet bus strike dates if you are travelling by bus in the final week, as strike days fall on 25, 26 and 27 August.