Prescriptions

Non-urgent advice: Please Note

The last day to order your repeat prescription before the bank holidays for Christmas will be Tuesday, 19th December 2023 by 12 pm

Repeat Prescriptions

Repeat prescriptions will be issued at the doctor’s discretion and are normally for patients on long-term treatment.

Repeat prescription request can be made via website, in writing or by coming to the surgery during opening hours.

If you have online access, you can also request via patient access 

Pharmacies cannot order medication on behalf of patients unless they meet the following criteria:

  • School age children (if the items they need are to be administrated by the school)
  • Care homes
  • Individuals with funding care packages where a carer is provided to administer medicine or products
  • Anyone officially homeless
  • Dementia patients/ patients with learning difficulties

Please note we cannot accept prescription requests by telephone.

Please allow 3 working days before collecting your prescription.

If you have been advised to have a medication review before ordering your prescription, please click here and choose the option ‘Other’

In future you may wish to consider registering for our Online Services. The Online Services system remembers which medications you are on and makes requesting repeat prescriptions faster and easier.

We are unable to issue repeat prescriptions at weekends, public holidays or out of normal surgery hours however you can request them by using the online system. Please allow three working days before collection and make allowances for weekends and public holidays.

We unfortunately have difficulties with many patients requesting urgent medication as they have run out. Please make efforts to plan ahead. Certain medications have been included in our emergency/urgent prescription list. If you have run out and need urgent issue we will endeavour for the prescription to be done on the day. You will usually be asked to return after 5pm to collect the prescription. You can see a copy of our policy on Emergency/Urgent Prescriptions here.

Ordering repeat prescriptions via the online service can be straightforward and convenient as it is available at any time. If you have not already registered and would like to apply for online access, please register here.


Contraception / HRT

If you are requesting the contraceptive pill, you will need to complete the Contraceptive Pill Review 

If you are requesting HRT medication, you will need to complete the Hormone Replacement Therapy Review 

Non-urgent advice: Please Note

Contraception or HRT repeat prescriptions require an up-to-date blood pressure reading. Please submit this with the prescription request well in advance as you may need to have a face-to-face review or telephone consult with a nurse or doctor at the surgery.

To register for Electronic Prescription Service, click here


Local Pharmacies

Prescriptions Charges and Exemptions

Extensive exemption and remission arrangements protect those likely to have difficulty in paying charges (NHS prescription and dental charges, optical and hospital travel costs).

The NHS prescription charge is a flat-rate amount which successive Governments have thought it reasonable to charge for those who can afford to pay for their medicines. Prescription prepayment certificates (PPCs) offer real savings for people who need extensive medication.

NHS charges

  • Prescription (per item): £9.65
  • 12-month prepayment certificate (PPC): £111.60
  • 3-month PPC: £31.25
  • If you will need to pay for four or more prescription items in three months, or more than 14 items in 12 months, you may find it cheaper to buy a PPC. The charge for a single prescription item is £9.65, whereas a three month PPC will cost you £31.25 and a 12 month PPC £111.60.
  • PPC telephone advice line 0300 330 1341
  • General Public – Buy or Renew a PPC On-line

There is further information about prescription exemptions and fees on the NHS website.


Emergency Prescriptions

Issuing emergency/urgent medications has been an extra demand on duty doctors who need to be prioritizing clinically unwell and emergency patients. There are significant safety issues in diverting their attention, predominantly because the patient has forgotten to follow the 3 working day request procedure.

The duty doctor is required to assess acutely unwell patients in the surgery and at home if needed, attend to urgent contact from medical professionals in the surgery and hospital, and at times attend to the dying or deceased.

It is also unsafe to prescribe medications without a thorough check of the medical records and ensure that all necessary assessments have been undertaken.

Listed medications

The medications listed at the end of this notice, have been identified by the practice, and most other practices, as emergency medications without which the patient could come to significant harm within 72 hours. Any other medications can be dispensed after 72 hours using the normal repeat prescription service. Certain alternatives can be obtained from the pharmacy. Your pharmacist will be able to advise you on this.

Repeat medications

Enderley Road Medical Centre has been committed to completing prescription requests within 3 working days. This can be done at reception, via our website or online (additional registration required). We do not take prescription requests over the phone. Generally, patients will know a week beforehand when they are coming towards needing a new prescription. If you have difficulty organising prescription requests, please discuss with your pharmacist, or medical centre receptionist.

Holidays

Holidays are often booked weeks or months in advance. Common things to consider in preparation are holiday insurance, sun protection, transport… and your routine medications. Please ensure appropriate notice is given for these.

We are able to supply a maximum of 2 months of medications only.

Fear of flying

Patients come to us, asking us to prescribe diazepam for fear of flying. There are a number of very good reasons why prescribing this drug is not recommended. 

1) Diazepam is a sedative, which means it makes you sleepy and more relaxed. If there is an emergency during the flight it may impair your ability to concentrate, follow instructions and react to the situation. This could have serious safety consequences for you and those around you. 

2) Sedative drugs can make you fall asleep, however when you do sleep it is an unnatural non-REM sleep. This means you won’t move around as much as during natural sleep. This can cause you to be at increased risk of developing a blood clot (DVT) in the leg or even the lung. Blood clots are very dangerous and can even prove fatal. This risk is even greater if your flight is greater than 4 hours. 

3) Whilst most people find benzodiazepines like diazepam sedating, a small number have paradoxical agitation and increased aggression. They can also cause disinhibition and lead you to behave in a way that you would not normally. This could impact on your safety as well as that of other passengers and could also get you into trouble with the law.

4) According to the prescribing guidelines doctors follow (BNF) Benzodiazepines are contraindicated (not allowed) in treating phobia. Your doctor would be taking a significant legal risk by prescribing against these guidelines. They are only licensed short term for a crisis in generalised anxiety. If this is the case, you should be getting proper care and support for your mental health and not going on a flight. 

5) Diazepam and similar drugs are illegal in a number of countries. They may be confiscated or you may find yourself in trouble with the police. 

6) Diazepam stays in your system for quite a while. If your job requires you to submit to random drug testing you may fail this having taken diazepam.

We appreciate that fear of flying is very real and very frightening. A much better approach is to tackle this properly with a Fear of Flying course run by the airlines. We have listed a number of these below. 

Easy Jet http://www.fearlessflyer.easyjet.com
British Airways http://www.flyingwithconfidence.com/courses/venues/glasgow 

Virgin https://www.flyingwithoutfear.co.uk/fear-of-flying-courses/adult-course/

Hospital prescriptions

If you have had a clinic appointment at hospital with a consultant, you may have been given a 2 week hospital prescription. Please ensure you do not leave the hospital without seeing the hospital pharmacist .This script is not valid in community pharmacies. If it is closed, please make all efforts to attend or ask someone to attend the next day to collect this. Not all hospital prescriptions are licensed to be prescribed by GPs. They are not emergency medications. Similarly, all written correspondence from the hospital needs 72 hours to be processed.

Please enquire with reception if you have any further enquiries.

At the Enderley Road Medical Centre, we will not tolerate aggression or violence towards any of our staff; they have been instructed to follow this policy by senior doctors at the practice and have been specifically asked not to disturb the duty doctor for emergency prescriptions.

Thank you for your cooperation.
Partners, Enderley Road Medical Centre

Items Considered Emergency Medications

  • Salbutamol / Ventolin reliever spray
  • GTN spray
  • Medications for an arrhythmia- B blocker/verapamil/diltiazem/amiodarone
  • Oral nitrates
  • Insulin
  • Adrenaline pen
  • Contraceptive pills 28 days’ supply
  • Oral steroids (prednisolone/dexamethasone) if on regular dose
  • Palliative care patient medications
  • Lithium/antipsychotics- olanzapine, risperidone
  • Methotrexate/DMARDs
  • Warfarin/NOAC
  • Parkinsons disease meds
  • Anti-epileptics- phenytoin, sodium valproate
  • Specialised baby milks

Medicines Available over the Counter

In March 2018, NHS England published guidance about reducing the prescribing of medicines or treatments that are available to buy over the counter.

This means that certain medicines may no longer be prescribed if you can buy them ‘over the counter’.

Probiotics, and some vitamins and minerals will also no longer be routinely prescribed, because most people can and

should get these from eating a healthy, varied and balanced diet.

Learn More