Repeat Prescriptions

Repeat Prescription Request Process

Please allow 5 working days for requests to be processed.

When will it be ready?

Requests received:

Before 2PM will be available for collection after 5 working days

After 2PM allow a further 24 hours as it may not be processed until the next day

Working hours are Monday to Friday

Please note the practice is not responsible for any delays from your pharmacy. The 5 working days for processing commences upon receipt of the prescription whether directly from a patient of from a 3rd party e.g. Pharmacy

Examples:

• Request received at 11AM on a Tuesday will be read by 11AM on Monday
• Request received at 4PM on a Friday will be ready by 4PM on the following Friday

You can request a prescription in several ways:

1. You can ask your pharmacy to make the request on your behalf *
2. You can set up Patient Online Access and request digitally – click here for more information
3. You can provide a paper request – we encourage you to use options 1 and 2 in the first instance to reduce footfall to the practice during the pandemic but we still have this option available to support access for all patients.

* Should you change pharmacies you will need to liaise with the new pharmacy to ensure any repeat requests from them continue.This is particularly important with dossette boxes as the pharmacy will need to confirm they have capacity to make up the dossette boxes for you.

We do not accept telephone requests for repeat prescriptions due to the potential associated risks of an error when we do not have a documented request from the patient.

Why has my repeat prescription request been declined?

not all repeat requests will be signed – you may be required to have a medication review with a doctor before further medication is provided to ensure it is still the appropriate treatment for you. Medication requests received more than 10 days in advance may be declined and you will need to re-request.

Why does it take so long to get my prescription signed?

This is to allow the GP to review a patient record and ensure the clinical appropriateness of the request. Doctors are seeing patients during surgery sessions times. They are then seeing urgent same day appointments both late morning and early evening as well as home visits during the lunch period to patients who are too unwell to come into the practice.

A GP needs sufficient time to be able to review your request and ensure it is clinically safe to authorise the request. This is in the best interest of you, as the patient for your ongoing care.

We hope you understand this. We aim to be quicker than 5 working days so after 72 working hours please feel free to call your pharmacy to see if your prescription is already available for collection.

Why can I only get 2 month’s worth of medication at a time?

In line with our standard prescription request policy no more than 2 month’s worth of medication will be provided unless it is under repeat dispensing or a contraceptive pill. This also aligns to and NHSE recommendations to reduce medication wastage and ensure patient safety. Please ask your GP about repeat dispensing which allows the prescription to be dispensed directly from your pharmacy at 2 monthly intervals for longer periods of time reducing your need to make regular requests for repeat prescriptions. Please note repeat dispensing is not appropriate for all medications as some may require you to have a regular review by a doctor prior to re-issuing them.

Urgent Prescription Requests

We expect patients on regular medications to ensure they request repeat prescriptions 5-7 days before they run out. However, we do understand there may be occasions where medication is lost or a request for a repeat is forgotten. Please click here and scroll down on the page to our Urgent Prescription Request Policy for full details. Please note most medication is not urgent for the day and will be actioned as a routine request. For full details of the medications that are considered as urgent for the day please click here.

Finally, to help you and your doctor:

• Your prescription should last for the time period it has been provided for. If you are collecting routine medication more often than this please tell us. You may be asked to speak to the doctor before further medication is issued.
• All medicines should last for the same number of days.  If you are running out of some items or have too much of some medication, please tell us. You may be asked to speak to the doctor before further medication is issued.
• Be prepared to attend the surgery at least annually for medication / health reviews.  The practice is making sure that the medication you are taking is still the best way to manage your medical condition. We will reduce prescription amounts until a patient is able to attend required reviews. We will ask a patient to register at another practice if they are unable to work with us to support their safe prescribing ie. a patient does not attend for a medication / health review
• Do not stockpile medicines at home; only order those items that you will need until your next prescription is obtained.
• Please return any unwanted medication to a pharmacy for safe disposal.
• Please order 5-7 working days before your medication runs out to ensure you do not have a gap in medication.

PLEASE ALSO NOTE THAT IF YOU ARE REQUESTING A MEDICATION THAT HAS NOT BEEN PRESCRIBED IN THE LAST 3 MONTHS YOU WILL NOT BE PROVIDED WITH AN URGENT PRESCRIPTION AND WILL BE ASKED TO MAKE A GP APPOINTMENT.