Repeat Prescriptions

How to Order Your Repeat Prescription

If you have a long-term medical condition you GP may add medication to your repeat prescriptions. This means that you may be able to order these again without the need to see the GP until your medication review is next due. If you are on regular medication that has been added to your repeat prescription, then ordering is simple. You can:

• At the Reception Desk

You can order your repeat prescription by speaking to our reception team at either Tramways or Middlewood Medical Centre. Please try and make sure you know which medications you require in advance to help the receptionist order the items that you require.

• By Phone

Patients can order their prescription by phone by ringing our main number reception number after 10:00am Monday to Friday.

• Ordering Through Your Online Account

Patients who are registered for our online services can order their medication using their personal account. This lists all the repeat medication on your medical record and allows you to order the items that you require. Online requests can be made at any time and will be processed by our Reception team during the next working day. If you wish to find out more about registering for online service, this can be found here.

• Posting Your Request

Please write out clearly the medications that you require and either drop this into either surgery or post it directly to us. If you wish, requests can be posted back to you if you enclose a stamped address envelope with your written request. Please allow longer for these requests to be processed and should not be used when you require medication urgently.

It can take up to 48 hours for us to complete any request and this to be sent to a pharmacy, although it may take longer for the pharmacy to process the prescription. Please make sure you have accounted for this and order your medication in good time.

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Nominating a Pharmacy for Electronic Prescriptions

As of September 2020, all NHS prescriptions are now via sent to pharmacies via the NHS Electronic Prescription Service (EPS). Further information on the EPS service can be found here. If you use a regular pharmacy this can be made easier by nominating them as your preferred choice, either at the surgery or the pharmacy themselves.

If you do not have a nominated pharmacy then your prescription will be stored in the 'cloud'. You will then be able to collect your prescription by going to any pharmacy with your NHS number and asking them to download this for you. If you are unsure of your NHS number, please ask the Reception team when ordering.

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Medication Reviews

In order to ensure that you are taking your medication appropriately and safely, all patients on repeat medication will be asked to see a doctor, nurse practitioner or practice nurse at least once a year to for a review of these medications.

You may be notified by a message on your repeat prescription or be informed directly by our reception team. If you use a pharmacy ordering service or have repeat dispensing (where several months of prescriptions are issued to the pharmacy in advance) then it is up to the pharmacy to inform you when your review is due. It still remains the patients responsibility to be aware of when their review is due and book an appropriate appointment in order to avoid any potential delays.  

Our GPs may not be able to issue and further medications before the check is complete.

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Electronic Prescription Service (EPS)

The Electronic Prescription Service (EPS) is the name of the service that allows GPs to send your prescriptions directly to the pharmacy of your choice. It gives you the chance to choose the place you wish to get your medicines from, without the need to visit the surgery to pick up your prescription.

From September 2020, NHS digital is rolling our EPS Version 4 to all Practices. This means that all prescriptions will be sent electronically as standard, and so green paper prescriptions will no longer be produced.

What does this mean for you?

• If you collected your repeat prescriptions from your GP you will not have to visit your GP practice to pick up your paper prescription. Instead, your GP will send it electronically to the place you choose, saving you time.
• You will have more choice about where to get your medicines from because they can be collected from a pharmacy near to where you live, work or shop.
• The prescription will get from us to the pharmacy faster

How can you use EPS?

The best way to use EPS is by choosing a regular place for your the Practice to send your prescriptions to. This is called nomination. You can make a nomination at either:

• your GP Practice
• the Pharmacy of your choice

Once the prescription has been sent and received, you should be able to visit the pharmacy and collect in exactly the same way you would with a regular paper prescription.

Can I change my nomination?

Yes you can. You can change your nomination at any time. If you need to have a prescription sent to a pharmacy as a one-off, please let the Reception team know when you order and they will try to accommodate this for you.

What happens if I don't have a nomination?

If you do not have a nomination then your prescription will still be processed electronically, but instead of being sent directly to a particular pharmacy, it will instead be stored securely in the electronic cloud. You can then visit any pharmacy of your choice and ask them to download this for you.

In order for the pharmacy to locate your prescription you will need to provide your NHS number. If you do not know what your number is, please ask a member of the Reception team and they will be able to provide this.

Is EPS reliable, secure and confidential?

Yes. Your electronic prescription will be seen by the same people in GP practices, pharmacies and NHS prescription payment and fraud agencies that see your paper prescription now. Sometimes dispensers may see that you have nominated another dispenser. For example, if you forget who you have nominated and ask them to check or, if you have nominated more than one dispenser. Dispensers will also see all the items on your reorder slip if you are on repeat prescriptions.

For more information visit www.hscic.gov.uk/epspatients, your pharmacy or GP practice.