Prescriptions

Repeat Prescriptions

We want to make it as easy as possible for patients to order their usual medication. You don't need an appointment to see the GP to get further supplies of your repeat or continuous medicines. The best way to request more of your medication is through the Airmid App

We cannot take prescription requests over the phone or at reception due to patient safety concerns raised by NHS England and the CQC. Issuing prescriptions requires training and concentration without interruptions to avoid errors.

If over 65 or housebound, call 01484 500921 and select option 4 to reach our 24/7 prescription line.

All others must request refills online, via the Airmid/NHS app, with a pharmacy form, or by completing a handwritten form at reception. We apologise for the inconvenience but these changes are necessary to ensure prescription accuracy and safety.

You can request a repeat prescription in a number of ways:

  • Request a repeat prescription in writing from reception
  • Request a repeat prescription online using the website or an App
  • Request a repeat prescription by post (we will be happy to post it back to you if you enclose a stamp addressed envelope)

For step by step instructions of how to order medication using our website click here

Please allow 48 hours, excluding weekends and Bank Holidays, for your request to be processed. Any problems please telephone the surgery.

Prescriptions ordered during working hours will usually be sent to your chosen pharmacy after 14:00 the following working day. Your pharmacy may not have it ready to collect immediately so please check with them before going to collect to avoid disappointment.

Prescriptions ordered while the surgery is closed (18:00) will not start to be processed until the next working day so may take an extra day before they are sent to your pharmacy. 

To check if the pharmacy have recieved your prescription, please check the Airmid App or ring your pharmacy.

Electronic Prescribing Service

This practice is set up for the electronic prescription service. This means that for most items we can send your prescription to your chosen chemist directly saving you having to come down to the surgery.

Let your local pharmacy know and they will add a nomination so that your prescriptions go there automatically. We do not add pharmacy nominations as that is between you and your pharmacy to agree. Read more about the Electronic Prescription Service EPS on the NHS website.

Repeat Dispensing

If you are on regular, stable, medication we can provide a service in partnership with your pharmacy called Repeat Dispensing. This means you will order your medication once every 6 or 12 months and your pharmacy hold the prescriptions for you and dispense as you need them. At the end of that period you would have a blood test, blood pressure check and a medication review and then we can re-issue again. Please ask if you are suitable for this service or watch the video to the right or click here to learn more.

 

Prescription Fees

Help with NHS costs

In England, around 90% of prescription items are dispensed free. This includes exemptions from charging for those on low incomes, such as:

  • those on specific benefits or through the NHS Low Income Scheme
  • those who are age exempt
  • those with certain medical conditions
  • More information is available at NHS Choices

 

Are You Claiming free prescriptions? Check before you tick...

Find out if you're entitled to free NHS prescriptions, NHS dental treatment and help with other NHS costs using our eligibility checker.

It usually takes 3 minutes to check.

If you claim free NHS prescriptions or NHS dental treatment when you're not entitled, you could face a £100 penalty charge. Even if it's by mistake.

NHS Charges

These charges apply in England only. In Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales prescriptions are free of charge.

  • Prescription (per item): £9.65 (rising to £9.90 01/05/24)
  • 12-month prepayment certificate (PPC): £111.60 (rising to 114.50 from 01/05/24)
  • 3-month PPC: £31.25 (rising to £32.01 from 01/05/24)

If you will have to pay for four or more prescription items in three months or more than 14 items in 12 months, you may find it cheaper to buy a PPC.

  • Telephone advice and order line 0845 850 0030
  • General Public - Buy or Renew a PPC On-line

 

Some health conditions mean you are exempt from prescription charges. If you require a Medical Exemption Form you can collect one at reception. Upon receipt, the GP will sign and stamp the form and send it in the post. You will then receive your exemption card within 14 working days. For more information about who is entitled to Medical Exemption from prescription charges please visit the NHS website here..

Medication for patients having MRI scans and other investigative procedures

After very careful consideration, Rose Medical Practice have decided to no longer prescribe diazepam for patients having MRI scans or other investigative procedures from 1st July 2023. This is not a decision we took lightly; we have a duty of care to provide safe, consistent, and appropriate care for our patients.  We hope the reasons outlined below help to explain our main concerns.

  • Small doses of benzodiazepines such at 2mg diazepam are probably sub-therapeutic for most adults for any effective sedation. Conversely anxiolytics can have an idiosyncratic response in patients, and even very small doses can cause increased agitation in some subsets of patients.
  • A patient may take a sedative ‘an hour’ before their assumed procedure, to then attend the hospital to find their procedure has been delayed, therefore the timing of the anxiolytic being sub optimal.
  • GPs are not regularly involved, skilled, trained or appraised in sedation skills.
  • All hospital consultants, both those requesting imaging and those providing it, have access to the same prescribing abilities as GPs. If a patient needs a certain medication to enable an investigation to go ahead, they are just as well positioned to provide a prescription, either through the hospital pharmacy or a hospital FP10.
  • Sedated patients should be regularly monitored, and we have been made aware of a case where a GP provided sedative was given, the patient not monitored, and subsequently had a respiratory arrest in an MRI machine.
  • The Royal College of Radiologists‘ own guidelines on sedation for imaging makes no mention of GP involvement or provision of low dose anxiolytics and stresses the importance of experienced well-trained staff involved and the monitoring of sedated patients.

You may wish to discuss this with your radiologist or consultant regarding the next steps. Feel free to show them this policy.

Further Information

For more information, please see the following patient information leaflet published by the Royal College of Anaesthetists:

Sedation explained Leaflet

The following links provide further information:

Sedation, analgesia and anaesthesia in the radiology department – Royal College of Radiologists

Sedation, analgesia and anaesthesia in the radiology department 

Safe Sedation Practice for Healthcare Professionals: Standards and Guidance – Academy of Medical Royal Colleges

https://www.aomrc.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Safe_sedation_practice_for_healthcare_procedures_update_0521.pdf