If a regular medication is required and it is not necessary to see the doctor or nurse, you can get a repeat prescription form issued with your script. The left side of the form is for your usual prescription, the right side of the repeat prescription will contain a list of all the medications you are allowed.
It is your responsibility to ensure that your repeat prescription request is ordered in plenty of time.
Ordering repeat prescriptions
Please do not order any medications you do not need.
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: SystmOnline
These accounts show you all your repeat medicine and dosage and you can choose the ones you need.
You can also:
- use the PATCHS service
- underline the items needed on the tear off side of your prescription and drop it into the surgery
- post the tear off side of your prescription to the surgery, if a stamped addressed envelope is supplied, your prescription can be returned via Royal Mail
We do not take repeat prescription requests over the phone, this can lead to errors due to our reception staff not being medically trained and very different medication have very similar names, so it is not safe practice. Calling the surgery will also make the telephone lines busy and could prevent patients from contacting the surgery for appointments, results etc.
A lot of medicines are wasted – dispensed but not used. We believe that some of this waste can be reduced if people request their repeat prescriptions directly from their general practice, rather than allowing a community pharmacy to request prescriptions on their behalf. Nobody knows which medicines you are really running out of better than you (or your carer if you have one).
Emergency prescriptions
Emergency prescription requests are requests for medication which you have run out of and need, to prevent you becoming severely unwell. Emergency medications include; antiepileptic medication, insulin, inhalers and adrenaline pens for anaphylaxis.
Emergency prescription requests cannot be used for medication which has been ordered late.
Collecting your prescription
You can usually collect your prescription 2 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 any pharmacy that accepts repeat prescriptions
Private prescriptions
A GP in the surgery can only provide a private prescription if the medication is not available on the NHS.
A private prescription is not written on an official NHS prescription and so is not paid for by the NHS. A prescription is a legal document for which the doctor, who has issued and signed it, is responsible. A doctor you see privately is unable to issue an NHS prescription.
The cost of a private prescription is met wholly by the patient and is dictated by the cost of the medicine plus the pharmacists charge for supplying it. Our fee for issuing patients with a private prescription is £15.
Prescribing wisely
Medicines and products that can be bought over the counter without a prescription
The NHS in Brent, Ealing, Harrow, Hillingdon, Hounslow, Hammersmith & Fulham, Kensington & Chelsea, and Westminster spent over £13 million in 2016 on products that can be bought without a prescription at community pharmacies.
The NHS is under pressure. Our budgets are not large enough to pay for all the treatments we would like to purchase.
We would like to spend less on medicines you can buy without a prescription so as to free up funds for other valuable NHS services. So practices across North West London will no longer routinely prescribe medicines which are available to buy over the counter in pharmacies (and, in the case of some medicines, in supermarkets and other shops too).
There is a lot of medication that can go to waste. So please only order what you need. This will save money for the NHS and for yourselves.
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.
Go to Medicines A to Z (nhs.uk)
If you would like to speak to someone at the GP surgery about your prescription:
- use the PATCHS service
Medication reviews
The repeat prescription intervals may vary from one to six months and your doctor will arrange to review your condition at appropriate times depending on the medication you require and whether or not your condition is stable.
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
Many excellent and important medicines are available over the counter (OTC) at pharmacies. They do not need to be prescribed by a doctor and indeed you can save yourself a lot of money as many are cheaper than the prescription charge.
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.
Prescribing over the counter medications (PDF).
Most pharmacies have a private room where you can discuss issues with pharmacy staff.