It is your responsibility to order your medication each month and we ask you to note that we require 3 working days to process your requests and pharmacies often take a further 2 working days to have your medicines prepared, so please ensure you order in good time.
Ordering Repeat Prescriptions
We do not take prescription requests over the telephone unless you are medically housebound.
- Order Online Using The NHS App
- Order Online Using Our Secure Form
- In Person – Post a prescription request slip or written request in the Prescription post box at Leominster or Bodenham surgery
Electronic Prescription Service (EPS)
We much prefer to send your prescription electronically to the pharmacy of your choice. This saves you having to attend the practice and queue at reception to pick it up and then queue again at the pharmacy. You can nominate your preferred pharmacy using the NHS App or advising us when you send in your order.
Learn more about the Electronic Prescription Service
Bodenham Dispensing
We have provision to dispense to patients who live outside the town boundaries and who are registered at the branch surgery. The Health Service Regulations on this matter are very strict and this service can only be offered to those patients who register as ‘dispensing’ at the point of joining the practice when moving into the area.
Repeat Dispensing
This is an NHS development which may benefit people who have a stable, regular, repeat prescription. This is how it works: your doctor authorises prescriptions for a period of time – normally 6 months, but in some cases up to 12 months. Monthly prescriptions are lodged with the pharmacist of your choice for the whole period. You can then collect your medication from this pharmacy each month, without having to reorder your medication.
If you are interested in using this service please talk to the prescription line team 01568 614141 Option 3 between 11:00 and 13:00 Monday to Friday.
NHS Spending versus Saving
Unused prescription medicines cost the NHS approximately £110 million a year. Medicine wastage is a serious and growing problem in the NHS.
Sometimes patients or carers with repeat prescriptions continue to get more medicines than they need and stockpile at home. This wastes millions of pounds and huge amounts of medicines.
So please help us to reduce wasted medicines by:
- Only tick the items you need on your repeat prescription slip.
- Check what medicines you still have at home before re-ordering.
- Tell our pharmacist if you have stopped taking any of your medicines.
Consent for others to collect your prescription
Guidelines were issued recently suggesting that patients should give their consent for third parties to collect their prescription. As many of you will know, we never hand out prescriptions without asking the collector to first confirm the patient’s address, and have always felt that this should suffice.
Prescribing “just in case” antibiotics
We are often asked by patients to prescribe “just in case” antibiotics, especially when travelling abroad.
There are two scenarios where it is recommended:
- Patients with COPD with predictable exacerbations
- Patients with recurrent urine infections reliably related to sexual intercourse
In all other scenarios it is not recommended. This is for several reasons:
- it is not covered by our contract as an NHS service
- it is not recommended in terms of antibiotic stewardship as likely leads to inappropriate targeting of antibiotic use and increased resistance
- it is not recommended for patient safety (it’s likely the antibiotics won’t be the correct ones for the infection you get, or even delay you seeking medical help if unwell)
- it is not recommended by our medico-legal insurance company as we are prescribing a drug without an indication or follow up or clinical assessment
- it leads to increased waste as the antibiotics are likely to expire before use
You can view further information about antibiotic stewardship here:
What is Antibiotic Resistance? – YouTube – video by PHE -could add this to your practice website?
Antibiotic resistance – NHS (www.nhs.uk)– brief explanation on antibiotic resistance and superbugs.
Awareness of Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) Animation – YouTube