Prescriptions Information

• It is quick, secure and convenient.
• You can place your order 24 hours per day, 7 days per week.
• Your request links straight into your personal medical record; is accurate and there is no potential for transcribing errors.
• It allows our prescribing team to process your request more quickly and improves our ability to process your request within 3 working days, if not sooner.
• It gives us more flexibility about when we process your request which helps with availability of staff at peak times to handle appointment calls etc.
• If you have also nominated a ‘destination’ pharmacy from where you collect your medication, your request can be authorised by the doctor electronically and be available to the pharmacy to dispense almost immediately. This part of the process is known as the Electronic Prescribing System EPS).

• EPS simply allows your Doctor to check and authorise your request on the screen electronically and then send your prescription safely and securely to pharmacy of your choice.
• It saves us time, paper and printing costs.
• It reduces the chance of prescriptions being mislaid within the practice.
• The Doctors can access electronic prescriptions from wherever they are e.g. consulting rooms etc.
• Once the doctor has sent your prescription it should be available straight away to the pharmacy. The pharmacy has to access the EPS system and retrieve your prescription in readiness to dispense your mediation.
• Some pharmacies can access your prescription within seconds of it being sent by the Doctor. Others pharmacies may need up to 30 minutes.
• We have no control over processing times once the Doctor has released your prescription as this is a commercial operating / customer care issue for the pharmacy.
• You can change your nominated pharmacy whenever you like.

If you forget to obtain a prescription for repeat medication and thus run out of important medicines, you may be able to get help from your Pharmacy. Under the Urgent Provision of Repeat Medication Service, Pharmacists may be able to supply you with a further cycle of a previously repeated medicine, without having to get a prescription from your GP.

If you have run out of important medication, telephone your usual Pharmacy to check that they offer this service; if they don’t, they may either direct you to another Pharmacy who does provide it, or ask you to phone 111 where you can request details of a local Pharmacy that provides the service.

You must then take with you to the relevant Pharmacy, proof of both your identification and of your medication (for example, your repeat prescription list or the empty box which should have your details printed on it). Please note that controlled drugs and antibiotics are not provided through this service, you will need to ring 111 for these.

If you receive stoma products from your Pharmacy or other supplier and/or receive items such as continence products, please ensure you have sufficient supplies as you may encounter difficulties in obtaining these over Bank Holidays, or when the Surgery is closed.

If you need help with NHS costs or need to find out if you can get free prescriptions please click here for further information.

When you are discharged from Hospital you should normally receive seven days supply of medication.

On receipt of your discharge medication, which will be issued to you by the Hospital, please contact the Surgery to provide them with this information before your supply of medication has run out.

Hospital requests for change of medication will be checked by a prescribing clinician first, and if necessary a prescribing clinician will provide you with a prescription on request.

GPs should not be contacted regarding sedation requests prior to seeing a dentist, your dentist should be prescribing for you if they think it is needed.

Patients on repeat medication will be asked to speak to a Pharmacist, Nurse Practitioner or Practice Nurse at least once a year to review these regular medications and notification should appear on your repeat slip. This may involve changes to your tablets and is in accordance with current Health Authority policies. Please be reassured that this will not affect your treatment. We may sometimes call you in for a medication review and this may involve blood tests. It is very important that you attend these appointments, as it keeps you safe whilst taking medication.

Non-repeat prescriptions, known as ‘acute’ prescriptions are medicines that have been issued by the Doctor but not added to your repeat prescription records. This is normally a new medication issued for a trial period, and may require a review visit with your Doctor prior to the medication being added onto your repeat prescription records.

Some medications are recorded as acute as they require to be closely monitored by the Doctor. Examples include many anti-depressants, drugs of potential abuse or where the prescribing is subject to legal or clinical restrictions or special criteria. If this is the case with your medicine, you may not always be issued with a repeat prescription until you have consulted with your Doctor again.

A GP, nurse or pharmacist will generally not give you a prescription for over-the-counter (OTC) medicines for a range of minor health conditions. For further information from the NHS about OTC medicines please click here.