In light of the challenges presented by the Covid-19 pandemic we are switching some patients to a repeatable prescription (also known as batch prescriptions). We are contacting the patients by telephone or text to let them know, and this page gives more information about this process.

The repeatable (or batch) prescription can be collected directly from your nominated pharmacy each month so should be more convenient as you will not need to contact the surgery each time it needs to be repeated. It will also significantly reduce our administrative workload within the practice freeing us up for more direct patient contacts.

We will authorise a number of electronic repeat prescriptions and send them directly to your usual pharmacy. The number of issues will be based on your circumstances and clinical need. Generally we will issue enough to last until your next medication review date. These electronic repeat prescriptions will then be supplied to you by your pharmacy at regular intervals. The pharmacy also has the flexibility to dispense early if needed, such as to cover holiday or work travel, which may be useful in future.

Please contact your pharmacy 7 days before you need your first supply of medication to check they have it ready for you, or to give them time to prepare it. This will also allow them to explain their system for repeatable prescriptions as each pharmacy works slightly differently, so it is best to check directly with them to ensure you have the correct information.

When you need more medicines, go back to your pharmacy. Before dispensing the next issue of your prescription, your pharmacy will ask:

• Have you seen any health professionals (GP, nurse or hospital doctor), since your last repeat prescription was supplied?
• Have you recently started taking any new medicines – either on prescription or that you have bought over the counter?
• Have you been having any problems with your medication or experiencing any side effects?
• Are there any items on your repeat prescription that you don’t need this month?

If you don’t need all of the medicines on your prescription, let the pharmacy staff know, so that they only supply the medicines you need. This will help to reduce waste and save the NHS money.

As you can see from the questions the pharmacy will ask, this system does require us to share information about your treatment between the practice and pharmacy. This would be the information needed to enable your pharmacist to give us feedback about your treatment if you are experiencing any problems and for them to provide you with useful advice.

When your pharmacy supplies your final electronic repeat prescription in the series that we have authorised, they will advise you to contact us. We may want to review your medication before we authorise more electronic repeat prescriptions. If you normally have annual blood tests or reviews to ensure the safety of your medicines these will be done at this point. This should mean that you only need to contact the surgery for any monitoring that is required to check the safety and effectiveness of you treatment. The annual medication review can be done either over the telephone or in surgery once any blood tests have taken place. Then the next repeatable prescription can be issued to your pharmacy.

If you have any further questions about repeatable prescriptions please contact the pharmacist team within the surgery who will be able to help you. If you have read this information but have decided that you do not want to be a part of this system then please let us know.