Prescriptions

Ordering repeat prescriptions

The easiest ways to order repeat prescriptions are:

These accounts show you all your repeat medicine and dosage and you can choose the ones you need.

You can also:

We do not take repeat prescription requests over the phone or email.

Collecting your prescription

You can usually collect your prescription from the pharmacy 3 to 5 working days after you have ordered it.

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:

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.

Position Statement: Prescribing of Medications Available to Purchase Over the Counter

Think Twice before asking your GP to prescribe over-the-counter medicines.

NHS Shropshire CCG does not support the routine prescribing of medication that is available to buy from local pharmacies or supermarkets for children or adults.

The NHS belongs to everybody and the CCG must ensure that its resources are used in the best possible way for all patients.

Moisturising creams, gels, ointments and balms for dry skin with no diagnosis
Hay fever remedies
Bath oils and shower gel (unless recommended by a specialist for infected atopic eczema)
Vitamins and supplements
Potassium hydroxide for Molluscum contagiosum e.g. Molludab
Lubricating eye drops and chloramphenicol eye drops and eye ointment
Anti-diarrhoeal medication for short term diarrhoea
Paracetamol and ibuprofen for short term use
Antifungal preparations e.g. Canesten
Rehydration sachets
Anti-inflammatory gels e.g. ibuprofen gel
Laxatives for short term use
Head lice treatments
Threadworm tablets
Lactose free infant formula (This does not include Hypoallergic milks for use with diagnosed Cows Milk Protein Allergy) and ‘Comfort Milks’
Cough and cold remedies
Medicated shampoos e.g. Alphosyl, Capasal
Haemorrhoidal preparations e.g. Anusol
Patients have a responsibility to look after themselves and their children where possible and manage self-limiting minor ailments with support from their local pharmacy if needed: patients should keep a small supply of simple treatments in their own medicine cabinet so they are able to manage minor ailments at home: all these medicines are widely available from supermarkets and pharmacies at reasonable cost: many of these treatments are more expensive when prescribed on the NHS compared to when they are purchased in pharmacies or supermarkets e.g. paracetamol is approximately 4 times as expensive on prescription.

For more information, pick up a leaflet at reception or visit the website: www.shropshireccg.nhs.net/medicines-management. 
Ask your local pharmacist for advice on the best medicines to treat minor illness.

NHS and Private Interface Prescribing Guidance

Patients electing to see a private specialist, should do so on the expectation that all recommended tests, procedures and prescribed medicines will be provided privately (not on the NHS).

A recommendation from a private specialist for a medicine that is available on the NHS does not entitle the patient to NHS prescriptions for that medicine. Recommendations from specialists for ongoing prescribing on the NHS need to be made at an NHS consultation with an NHS specialist.

A GP is therefore under no obligation to provide an NHS prescription to a patient based on the recommendation of a private specialist.

However if a GP considers that ongoing prescribing of a medicine is appropriate on the NHS, it is recommended the GP does so based on local ICB guidance.

Where there is a good clinical, legal or cost-effectiveness reason not to accept prescribing of the requested medicine, a discussion with the patient and consultant should be initiated. Where appropriate, the patient should be reminded that they reserve the right to obtain their medication using a private prescription from the specialist who originally recommended the treatment.

Patients & Prescribing: Rights & Responsibilities

Under the NHS regulations your GP must prescribe for you any drugs that he or she feels are needed for your medical care. A patient is entitled to drugs that the GP believes are necessary, not those which the patient feels should be prescribed.

GPs are responsible for all prescribing decisions they make and for any consequent monitoring that is needed as a result of the prescription given.

The Department of Health lists all drugs that the NHS is prepared to pay for in a list called the Drug Tariff. It is likely that most, if not all, the drugs you need are available through the NHS, however the Drug Tariff does have exceptions.

Some drugs, listed in Schedule 11 will only be offered on the NHS to patients suffering from specified conditions. Similarly, some products other than drugs, such as gluten free foods or sunblocks, are listed as ‘Borderline Substances’ and may only be prescribed at NHS expense in defined circumstances.

Other drugs or substances, listed in Schedule 10, cannot be prescribed at all on the NHS, these include Evening Primrose Oil, many vitamins, bath preparations, cough syrups and expensive brand names of some drugs.
Yes, your GP may refuse because the person who signs the prescription is legally liable for the prescribing and the consequent effects of that drug. Some drugs which may be very familiar to consultants in a specialised area of medicine can be potent drugs of which a GP will have little experience (for example many cancer drugs or specialised treatment for diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis – the group called ‘biologicals’).

Where a GP considers that it is inappropriate for them to issue a prescription on the advice of a third party, responsibility for provision will rest with the doctor making the recommendation.

As part of the 2017-18 NHS standard contract for secondary care trusts, new requirements on hospitals has been placed to reduce inappropriate bureaucratic workload shift onto GP practices. As a result, the GPC has published template letters in the event that hospitals are not implementing the changes, as well as template letters to CCGs to highlight where there has been a breach of the standard contract, for the CCG to take action.
Each GP will make prescribing decisions based on what they are or are not prepared to take clinical responsibility for. Some doctors might have special training or knowledge of a particular area of medicine which makes them comfortable to prescribe and monitor a drug where many GPs would not.

Clearly, a GP should be aware of their limitations as well as their skills and must ensure that they are not prescribing beyond their knowledge or their ability to ensure patient safety.

GPs are not obliged to provide every possible medical service to their patients, only those for which they have been contracted for, and these contracting arrangements may vary between practices.
Sometimes the care of a patient is shared between the two doctors, usually a GP and a specialist. There should be a formalised written agreement/protocol setting out the position of each, to which both parties have willingly agreed, which is known as an ‘shared care agreement’.

It is important that patients are involved in decisions to share care and are clear about what arrangements are in place to ensure safe prescribing.

In some cases, a GP may decline to participate in a shared care agreement if he or she considers it to be inappropriate. In such circumstances the consultant would take full responsibility for prescribing and any necessary monitoring. Guidance covering these issues (Responsibility for prescribing between primary and secondary/tertiary care) was published in 2018 on the NHS England website.
The NHS accepts responsibility for supplying ongoing medication for temporary periods abroad of up to three months.

If a person is going to be abroad for more than three months then only a sufficient supply of his/her regular medication should be provided to enable them to get to the destination and find an alternative supply.

NHS prescriptions must never be obtained by relatives or friends on behalf of patients who are currently abroad, irrespective of such factors as owning a house in the UK or paying UK taxes.

Patients are responsible for ensuring that any drugs they take into a country conform to local laws.