Repeat prescriptions are medications which appear on the right hand side of your prescription, which your doctor would like you to continue on a regular basis
What is an acute prescription?
Acute prescriptions are medications which do not appear on your Repeat prescription slip and are issued as a one-off (such as antibiotics) or when you have been started on a new medication that will need a review to check it is working for you.
If you have an on-going problem and would like another prescription of a medication previously prescribed to you by the doctor (but it is not on your repeat list) then you may request another prescription using one of the methods below.
Please let us know the reason for your request and a contact number in order for the Doctor or Clinical Pharmacist to review your request.
Ordering repeat prescriptions
The easiest ways to order repeat prescriptions are:
using your NHS account (through the NHS website or in the NHS App)
These accounts show you all your repeat medicine and dosage and you can choose the ones you need.
You can also bring the paper form to the surgery, Monday to Friday from 8am to 6.30pm
Important notice: from 31/12/2024 we will no longer accept requests via email, please swap to one of the alternative methods, preferably sooner rather than later
We do not take repeat prescription requests over the phone.
Emergency Prescription Requests
Emergency prescription requests are requests for medication which you have run out of and that you need, to prevent you becoming severely unwell.
Emergency medications may include: – Antiepileptic medication – Insulin – Treatments for Anaphylaxis
Emergency prescription requests cannot be used for medication which has been ordered late. You should allow 2 working days for routine repeat prescription requests. Please respect our staff, as it is your responsibility to ensure that your repeat prescription request is ordered in plenty of time.
You can usually collect your prescription from the pharmacy 2 working days after you have ordered it.
Why does it take 2 working days to process a repeat prescription request?
Here at Newton Drive, our Prescriptions team process prescriptions requests every day.
Our prescription team has to check your medical records to ensure that your medication request is on your repeat prescription and is due to be ordered.
The request then goes to our Clinical Pharmacist or Doctor to authorise and ensure that it is still appropriate for you to take. Once authorised, your prescription will be sent electronically to your pharmacy of choice.
Delays may occur if any medication requested is not on your repeat prescription list or if your medication request differs from what is on your list. Your doctor may also request that you make an appointment to have your medication reviewed.
You will need to choose a pharmacy to collect your prescription from. We call this nominating a pharmacy.
You can change your nominated pharmacy at any time:
on the app or website where you order repeat prescriptions
at your GP practice
at any pharmacy that accepts repeat prescriptions
Questions about your prescription
If you have questions about your medicine, your local pharmacists can answer these. They can also answer questions on medicines you can buy without a prescription.
The NHS website has information on how your medicine works, how and when to take it, possible side effects and answers to your common questions.
Many pharmacies are open until late and at weekends. You do not need an appointment.
Most pharmacies have a private consultation room where you can discuss issues with pharmacy staff without being overheard.
Prescribing Wisely
Many medicines and products that can be bought over the counter without a prescription
The NHS is under pressure. Our budgets are not large enough to pay for all the treatments we would like to purchase.
We would like to spend less on medicines you can buy without a prescription so as to free up funds for other valuable NHS services.
Our Practice will no longer routinely prescribe medicines which are available to buy over the counter in pharmacies (and, in the case of some medicines, in supermarkets and other shops too).
Requesting your repeat prescriptions
We ask that you – the patient – or a carer or family member order the medications you need, when you need them.
A lot of medicines are wasted – dispensed but not used. We believe that some of this waste can be reduced if people request their repeat prescriptions directly from their general practice, rather than allowing a community pharmacy to request prescriptions on their behalf. Nobody knows which medicines you are really running out of better than you.
Further Information
Hospital Prescriptions
When you are seen at the hospital and given a hospital prescription, you should not leave the hospital without first visiting the hospital pharmacy to collect the medication. Enough should have been provided to you for one month.
You cannot ‘redeem’ a Hospital Prescription in a community pharmacy.
Do not bring the Hospital Prescription to the surgery and ask us to convert it to a Practice Prescription – some hospital medications are not licenced to be prescribed by General Practitioners and we need to wait for correspondence from your Consultant to determine if we can issue the medication for you.
Private Prescriptions
A Private Prescription is usually issued to you after you have been seen by a Private Doctor or Consultant – you will have paid to see them at a private hospital or clinic, either yourself or via private health insurance.
Please do not bring a private prescription to the surgery and ask us to convert it to an NHS prescription as we will not do this. You will need to take the private prescription to a local pharmacy and pay for the prescribed items directly.
A private prescription may be issued to your by your GP and the following would apply: – A GP in the surgery at which you are registered can only provide a private prescription if the medication is not available on the NHS. – A private prescription is not written on an official NHS prescription and so is not paid for by the NHS. – The cost of a private prescription is met wholly by the patient, the Doctor issuing this may charge you for writing the prescription and the Pharmacy will then charge for the medication and the dispensing of it. – A prescription is a legal document for which the doctor, who has issued and signed it, is responsible. – A doctor you see privately can’t issue an NHS prescription.
Holiday Medication
Holiday are usually booked weeks or months in advance, therefore, when you are preparing for your holiday please remember to submit an early request for your medication, detailing the dates you are going and coming back, and allow the usual 2 working days for processing.
We can only provide a maximum of 3 months medication and we may request a patient provides documents to support the request.
We are unable to provide emergency prescriptions for holiday medication.
New Patient Prescriptions
We recommend that you get a good supply of your regular medication from your previous GP before registering with us.
If you normally take regular repeat medication please let us know by giving us a copy of your repeat prescription slip.
We will check your medication list and put them on the repeats list and if necessary we will book you a New Patient Health Check, please make sure to put your availability on your registration form.
We recommend downloading the NHS app as an easy and convenient way to order your medications.
Prescribing of Controlled Drugs
The Practice policy is not to prescribe the following drugs unless you provide written evidence from the previous GP Surgery as these drugs can be dangerous in long-term use.
We do not prescribe Methadone, Diamorphine, Buprenorphine (Subutex) or Melatonin at all. – Even with previous GP evidence you will be required to commit to a reduction strategy if your dose is above practice policy levels; this is none negotiable.