Out-of-hours app for pharmacies

A NEW smartphone app aims to make finding a pharmacist at the weekend or on a public holiday easier - in the Paris region at least.

The Ile-de-France regional health agency has teamed up with the local pharmacists' union to launch the new free service, which uses GPS tracking to find the nearest open pharmacy at any time of the day or night.

The idea came after the directory service Pages Jaunes found "pharmacie de garde" was the most searched-for term in Paris.

Opening times for the region's 3,900 pharmacists - including details of the out-of-hours rota for each area - will be available in real time.

More details can be found at http://monpharmacien-idf.fr/ - there is no word yet on whether the initiative could be extended elsewhere in France.