Repeat Prescription Requests
You can order your repeat prescription in one of the following ways:
Using the NHS App (quickest)
Request online using Patchs:
https://patchs.ai/practice/headstoneroadsurgery
Post a letter through our letter box
You must name the exact medication(s) you require.
For more details, please see website: https://www.nhs.uk/nhs-services/online-services/how-to-order-a-repeat-prescription/
Please note: for safety reasons, we do not accept repeat prescription requests over the telephone or verbal requests.
Prescription requests are processed within 2 working days not including the day you make the request. Prescriptions received during the weekend will be processed within 48 hours of the next working day.
Electronic prescriptions service (EPS)
If you get regular repeat prescriptions then choosing a pharmacy to dispense all your prescriptions may save you time by avoiding unnecessary trips to your GP.
Your prescriptions will be sent electronically to the pharmacy of your choice.
You will not have to collect a paper repeat prescription from your GP Practice.
Go to the NHS website for further information
Medication reviews
We have a duty to review your health and medicines regularly. We will let you know if you need to make an appointment for a medication review with one of our clinicians (clinical pharmacist or Prescribing Nurse Practitioner).
If you need urgent advice about your medication outside our Surgery hours, please call NHS 111.
NHS prescription charges and exemptions
Go to the NHS website for the latest prescription charges and exemption criteria.
Private Prescriptions
If you have seen a doctor or other healthcare professional privately and they need you to start treatment, you may be issued a private prescription. Private doctors are not allowed to issue NHS prescriptions. This is because private consultations are not part of 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 prescriber, who has issued and signed it, is responsible. Hence you will be expected to obtain the initial prescription privately from your chosen pharmacy.
The cost of a private prescription is met wholly by the patient and is dictated by the cost of the medicine plus the pharmacist’s charge for supplying it.
If you then wish to continue for further treatment under the NHS after your initial prescription was dispensed privately, then your GP may be able to issue a prescription on the NHS. However, there are a number of reasons why your GP may not be able to transfer your private prescription onto an NHS prescription. These include:
- The medicine being recommended on your private prescription is not allowed on an NHS prescription: If a medicine is not allowed on an NHS prescription (blacklisted) then it cannot be prescribed by anyone on the NHS.
- The medicine being recommended is not allowed to be prescribed by the local NHS Integrated Care Board (ICB).
- The medicine being recommended is not included in your local medicine formulary: A formulary contains of a list of preferred local medicine choices. You may be offered a preferred alternative on NHS prescription instead of the medicine on your private prescription.
- The medicine being recommended is only suitable for specialist or specialised prescribing where only NHS specialists (not GPs) would prescribe the medicine. So, GPs may be unfamiliar with the medicine and how it should be prescribed and reviewed.
- Your GP may not agree with the choice of medicine recommended by your private clinician and thus offered an alternative on an NHS prescription.