Prescriptions - Frequently Asked Questions

A repeat prescription is a medication that your doctor has authorised on your file which can be supplied for a certain period of time on a regular basis without having to see a doctor each time.

Repeat prescriptions are normally authorised for a period of 6 or 12 months but this may vary with the type of medication and at the doctor’s discretion.

Your doctor will usually give you your first prescription which will have 2 parts.

• The green slip is the actual prescription
• The white side shows the list of medications that you can order.

See our repeat prescriptions page for details on how you can order more medication

Please allow 3 working days (excluding weekends and Bank Holidays). See our events and closures page to see when we are closed.

EPS makes it possible for your prescription to be sent electronically to the pharmacy of your choice.

By nominating a chosen pharmacy, you will no longer have to collect a paper prescription from us. Instead, you go straight to the pharmacy to pick up your medication.

As the pharmacist will already have received your prescription, they may be able to prepare your items in advance so there may be no extra wait time.

However, this depends on the capacity of the pharmacist on the day and may not be possible at all times. 

Learn more about this one our Electronic Prescription Service page

How often will I need a medication review?

Patients on repeat medication will be asked to see a clinician at least once a year to review your regular medications but it could be more regularly.

The pharmacy told me I am due a medication review before I can have a further supply of medication. How soon do I need to book this review?

It is advisable to call the surgery at this stage to get an appointment arranged as there is often a wait for appointments.

Patient safety is paramount to us. This is an extra measure put in place to ensure that prescriptions are issued to patients in a timely and safe manner. If orders are taken over the phone this could result in;

• Staff could get distracted by other patients and forget to put the request through.
• Similar sounding medications could be misheard over the phone and the wrong item issued.
• Can tie up phone lines on reception.

There are always extenuating circumstances which we will try to accommodate however, taking the request over the phone would be the last resort.

 It’s the patient’s responsibility to order their medications.

Yes, you can, although we ask for you to make us aware of this when you make the request.

It is not always appropriate to add or continue to keep a medication on repeat.

This may occur if:

• The medication is a short course.
• Medications that are changing or need regular dose adjustments.

The hospital will send us a discharge summary, outlining any actions for GPs, medication changes and ongoing management changes.

This summary will be added to your records and passed to the GP to review and action.

The hospital should discharge you with a week’s supply of medication to give us the time to make the necessary changes, however, you can always get in touch if there are any problems.

• You may be due a medication review and your GP needs to assess that you remain suitable to receive repeat prescriptions. You will be notified if you are required to make an appointment.
• You might not have ordered with sufficient time for the surgery to process you request, it takes 72 working hours to be ready.
• The surgery may need to contact you if there is a query so make sure your contact details are still correct.
• There may be circumstances outside of our control such as staff sickness or logistic challenges with problems with medication supply issues.

You won’t be notified that your medication is ready to collect.

But, depending on the method used to request your medication, you may be able to see a notice that your prescription is approved and sent electronically to your nominated pharmacy.

You can request it in that same way as you would with repeat medication, but the request is sent to your doctor to approve.

There will be a delay as your doctor may feel the need to discuss this further with you so an appointment may be necessary.

You will need to speak to the pharmacist directly to see if this is a service they are able to offer.

Please do not throw any unwanted or out of date medicines in the bin. Instead, take it to your local pharmacy to be disposed of safely.

If it is an electronic prescription, you will need to ask the pharmacy to return it to the spine for it to be available to download by any other chemist.

If it was a green paper prescription, then you can just take this to any other chemist.

If it is an item on an electronic prescription where you have received some medication/s then you will need to contact the surgery for another prescription to be issued.

If it is an electronic prescription, you will need to ask the pharmacy to return it to the spine for it to be available to download by any other chemist.

If it is an item on an electronic prescription where you have received some medication/s then you will need to contact the surgery for another prescription to be issued.

Please speak to a member of staff at the surgery who can update your preference.