Prescriptions

Alignment Slips – if individual items on your supply of medication run out at different times please use an alignment slip as a “one-off” measure to ensure that you can get all your regular medication at the same time. This saves both your and our time.

We now process all prescriptions electronically.

Please contact your registered surgery via email or telephone to tell us the name of your nominated pharmacy. Once requested all repeat medication will be electronically sent to your nominated pharmacy, where you will need to collect your medication.

We recommend that you sign up to SystmOnline to order your repeat medication. You can also use either the Airmid or NHS apps.

Read more about EPS on the NHS website.

If you need regular medication and your doctor does not need to see you every time, you will be issued with a ‘repeat prescription’. You will still need to actively request your medication from your GP, who will then process and send your electronic prescription to your nominated pharmacy.

You can request your repeat medication two ways:

1. Using SystmOnline or an App such as Airmid or the NHS App, or
2. Using the repeat ordering paper slip* which the pharmacy attaches to your medication – this can be given into the surgery by hand.

*Tick items required in the box. Cross out medication no longer taken so that it can be deleted, e.g. if stopped at a hospital appointment.

If you are on repeat medication you will be asked to attend annual medication reviews, which will include blood tests. These reviews occur during the month of your birthday.

If following a hospital admission you require additional medication, they will normally provide seven days supply of medication. If you need this medication to continue you will need to provide a copy of your discharge summary to your registered practice containing the medication details. You can do this in person or email a copy to [email protected].

If your medication has changed at the request of a consultant or a recent hospital appointment, please provide us with evidence. We do receive notification from hospitals/specialists about changes, however you may need the altered medication before this information arrives at the surgery.

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

Please sign up to SystmOnline (see above) which will allow you to order your repeat prescription online. Alternatively you can use one of the latest Apps on Apple or Android devices, these being Airmid or the NHS App.

You can request your repeat prescription in person by bringing the completed repeat slip, provided by the pharmacy on your previous medication, to the surgery. We have a post-box outside this can be placed in.

We do not accept requests for repeat prescriptions by telephone or email. This prevents dangerous errors being made and leaves the telephone lines free for urgent matters.

In response to coronavirus (COVID-19), GPs and pharmacies are moving suitable patients to electronic Repeat Dispensing (eRD). You might be suitable for eRD if you get regular or repeat medicines that don’t change. eRD means your GP can send your regular or repeat prescriptions electronically to a pharmacy of your choice. You can then collect your medication from your pharmacy, or ask them to deliver it to your home. 

What eRD means for you

eRD allows your GP to send a series of repeat prescriptions to your pharmacy in one go, so there’s no need for you to order them each time. It’s reliable, secure and confidential. Your regular prescriptions are stored securely on the NHS database, so they’ll be ready at the pharmacy each time you need them.

How eRD can benefit you

If you get regular or repeat medicines, you might be suitable for eRD. Using eRD, you can: 

• save time by avoiding unnecessary trips or calls to your GP every time you need to order a repeat prescription
• order or cancel your repeat prescriptions online (if your GP practice offers this service)
• pick up your repeat prescriptions directly from your pharmacy without having to visit your GP
• spend less time waiting for your prescription in the pharmacy or GP practice, which means you can stay at home and avoid face-to-face contact when you need your repeat prescription during the coronavirus pandemic
• save paper – you won’t need a paper prescription to collect your medicine from the pharmacy

How do I sign up for eRD?

It’s really easy to sign up for eRD – just ask your GP or pharmacist to set it up for you.

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 will require a review with your Doctor either by telephone or in person, prior to the medication being added onto your repeat prescription records.

These will often be sent to you via a Text message containing a barcode. This can be taken to your chosen pharmacy. Please note that if this medication is continuing as a regular medication you will not need another barcode. Instead the GP will add it to your repeat prescription and you should request as per repeat prescription advice above.

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.

We do not accept taking medication back from patients. Please take any expired or excess medication to a local pharmacy.

We can however dispose of sharps such as needles.

Additional ‘appliances’ can be collected by a district nurse.

‘I need to order a repeat for my child. Please could you advise me on how to do it online.’

You can order a repeat prescription for your child in the same ways described under ‘how to order your medication’. The best way to do this is from SystmOnline.

Your child will need their own SystmOnline account. Please speak to your GP practice, they will be able to set your child up with a SystmOnline account or allow you proxy access via your own account if they are under 12 years of age. TPP advise you to get in touch with your GP practice first so you can bring any forms of identification they might require.