Prescriptions
It takes 3 working days for any prescription requests to be completed.
Request Your Repeat Prescription
The easiest ways to order repeat prescriptions are:
- using your NHS account (through the NHS website or in the NHS App)
- using the GP online system via the link at the top of this page or Click Here
These accounts show you all your repeat medicine and dosage and you can choose the ones you need.
You can also:
- fill out a repeat prescriptions request form
- bring the paper form to the surgery - see our opening times here
We do not take repeat prescription requests over the phone or email.
It takes 3 working days for any prescription requests to be completed.
Processing a prescription request takes time due to the need for a thorough medical review, potential communication with you over this, coordination with pharmacies and ensuring you have had the appropriate safety checks. These factors collectively contribute to the overall duration of the prescription processing but safety is our first priority.
It is crucial that you request prescriptions promptly. While the clinic will make every effort to accommodate your needs, we cannot guarantee timely processing, especially during peak periods like before bank holidays or Friday afternoons. Ensuring you request your prescription on time is essential, and we will do our best to ensure a timely fulfillment of your request.
The practice policy is to only issues MONTHLY prescriptions - to see our policy click here
Collecting your prescription
Prescription requests take 3 working days from when you put through your request. This gives the practice pharmacists and GP time to review any required monitoring such as blood tests etc.
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.
If you would like to speak to someone at the GP surgery about your prescription:
- phone our pharmacist after 10am.
- fill in our medication query form.
Medication reviews
If you have a repeat prescription, we may ask you to come in for a regular review. We will be in touch when you need to come in for a review.
Prescription charges
Find out more about prescription charges (nhs.uk).
What to do with old medicines
Take it to the pharmacy you got it from or bring it in to the surgery. Do not put it in your household bin or flush it down the toilet.
About pharmacists
As qualified healthcare professionals, pharmacists can offer advice on minor illnesses such as:
- coughs
- colds
- sore throats
- tummy trouble
- aches and pains
They can also advise on medicine that you can buy without a prescription.
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.
Over the Counter Medication
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.
This is because of government policy to reduce the amount of money the NHS spends on prescriptions for treating minor conditions that usually get better on their own.
Instead, OTC medicines are available to buy in a pharmacy or supermarket.
Click here to find out more about this
Medication Changes Following a Hospital Appointment
If you are prescribed medication or appliances at an NHS hospital or outpatient appointment you must collect the medication or appliance from the hospital pharmacy or community clinic. The Consultant or Specialist who signs the original prescription is responsible for the care of that patient until such time a letter transferring care is written to the GP at the practice. It is the responsibility of the hospital (and in line with their policy) to give 14 days’ supply of the medication to the patient if any of the follwing are applicable:
- You need to start the medication within the next two weeks
- You have a dose change of dose of existing medication which is needed within two weeks of the hospital appointment.
If the consultant requires you to continue the medication after the initial supply has run out they will inform the practice via a letter or report to the GP. We cannot add medications without written letters from your hospital teams. This is to ensure errors are not made and inappropriate workload shifted onto the practice team. We appreciate your understanding in relation to this.
Gluten Free Prescriptions
We would like to clarify that the decision to stop prescribing gluten-free products from the 1st February 2025 was not made by our GP practice, but rather by the Leicester, Leicestershire, and Rutland Integrated Care Board (LLR ICB). As part of their healthcare planning, they have decided to change the prescribing guidelines for gluten-free products.
If you would like to express your concerns or seek further information about this decision, we recommend contacting the LLR ICB directly, You can find more details here: www.leicesterleicestershireandrutland.icb.nhs.uk/be-involved/gluten-free-foods/
HRT / Contraceptive Pill check forms
If you currently take a HRT or a contracpitive pill, you will require an annual review. You would need to contact the surgery to request a review form from the reception team, this cna be collected or sent to you electronically.
The GP will then review your form and issue you a supply of your medication. Please be advised, they may not issue you the remainder of the years worth due to any possible side affects of the medication.
On the form, you will need an up to date weight and blood pressure to complete this.
Once your annual review has been done, further requests for your medication throughout the year can be requested via the normal prescription request method, Accurx, in person or using SystmOnline.
If you are on HRT and weight loss injections (privately) these can delay stomach emptying and reduce how well oral HRT is absorbed especially progesterone, which protects the womb lining. We advise switching to a combined HRT patch or using oestrogen gel with a Mirena coil. Continuing oral HRT may increase the risk of womb cancer. If you would to discuss this further then please book a ROUTINE GP appointment via Accurx to discuss.
https://patient.info/womens-health/menopause/hormone-replacement-therapy-hrt
https://patient.info/womens-health/menopause/alternatives-to-hrt
See the following website about the progestogen-only pill ("mini-pill"). It gives information on how to take it, what to do if you miss a pill and other useful information:
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/contraception/the-pill-progestogen-only/
Private Shared care medication
Medication commenced by a private speciliast should be monitored long-term by a specialist. The decision whether a drug should be a specialist drug is made by an independent committee that includes specialists, and the main reason is for patient safety. In some circumstances a GP may agree to take over a prescription under a Shared Care Agreement. Before agreeing, a GP must consider the following:
The General Medical Council (regulator which licences doctors to practice) states that GPs are responsible for the prescriptions they sign, must recognise and work within the limits of their competence, and must have sufficient information to prescribe safely. They further note that any shared care arrangement requires the agreement of all parties. Failure to abide by GMC guidance can place a doctor at risk of losing their licence to practice.
NHS England (the body that contracts with general practices) says that it is important that a GP is confident to prescribe, and that it is of “upmost importance” that a GP feels clinically competent to prescribe the necessary medicines. They remind GPs that legal responsibility for prescribing lies with the GP who signs the prescription and that they must prescribe within their own level of competence. They note that shared care may not be the most appropriate mechanism for medications that are used off-label, without an associated evidence-base or being recognised as standard treatment. In these circumstances specialists would normally retain responsibility for prescribing.
Finally, the practice may need to decide whether the specialist is expecting the practice to provide a service or monitoring that they are not funded or contracted to provide. The practice may not be indemnified to provide this service, or could only provide by removing funding from another patient service.
Your specialist will be able to continue to prescribe the medication for you, and we advise that you contact them directly to make future arrangements regarding the prescribing and monitoring of this drug.
Page created: 18 January 2024