Should any patient have difficulties collecting their prescriptions from their named pharmacy please see below options available and frequently asked questions.
SELECTING A NEW PHARMACY – The surgery advises that if you want to change the pharmacy that your future prescriptions go to (this does not include any already signed and sent), you contact one of your choice directly to arrange this or use the NHS app if you are registered to do so.
Failing that the surgery can do this manually however it is usually more beneficial to do this directly between the patient and the pharmacy or at your leisure on the NHS app.
RETURNING A PRESCRIPTION TO THE SURGERY
We are advising that if you are informed a prescription will not be available or ready from a pharmacy that one of the two following processes are used.
- If the prescription has been received but not yet made ready to collect – ask the pharmacy to cancel this request and send the prescription back to the surgery so that this can be redirected or printed for you to take to any pharmacy of your choice.
- Inform the surgery that your pharmacy can not hand over your medication to you, and you are left without your medication. A new prescription can be printed for you to take to a pharmacy of your choice with the old prescription being cancelled instead of being redirected.
Controlled drugs unfortunately require stricter monitoring and cannot be reissued without full clinical review, if your medication is a controlled drug that you are unable to get, please contact the surgery or 111.
In most cases the first option is the most efficient process to follow for all parties wherever possible.
ALTERNATIVE MEDICATION REQUESTS
We understand that from time to time certain medications are subject to manufacturing/supply issues and a patient may require an alternative medication. If this is the case, your pharmacist should be able to tell you what medications are available to dispense at their site, this can then be relayed to the GP who will issue a prescription.
If this is not the case and your normal pharmacy cannot provide an alternative patients will need to locate a pharmacy that can provide either the medication needed or an alternative and a one off prescription can be sent to that pharmacy.
NOT HAVING MEDICATION OVER THE WEEKEND OR OUTSIDE NORMAL SURGERY HOURS
Outside of normal surgery hours if you are left without any medication you will need to ring 111 for an emergency request, this request will then be sent to an available pharmacy.
Please be aware that once your medication has been issued by the surgery, we no longer have control over the dispensing/collection, this responsibility lies between the patient and their pharmacy.
