Prescriptions

 

Please follow the guidelines and choose the right option for you.

  • Please allow us 72 hours (three working days), to process your prescription request.
  • The pharmacy may need an extra 24 to 72 hours (two to three working days), to process your prescription request.
  • Please ensure you leave at least 5 to 6 working days from the time you request the repeat until the time you go to the pharmacy to collect the medication.
  • Please do not order any prescriptions more than 2 weeks in advance of the date that you are due to run out of your previous allocation.

We do not accept repeat prescription requests over the phone.

Ordering a Repeat Prescription

When you order a prescription online, you can have it sent electronically to a pharmacy of your choice. This is called a nomination.

Learn how to nominate a pharmacy

Urgent Prescriptions

If you believe a prescription is urgent, please request the medication by 1pm in order to allow us time to contact on on-call GP to urgently issue your prescription.

There must be a valid medical need for all urgent requests and it will be at the discretion of a GP to decide if they will process it on the day or as a routine request.

The NHS App

Order repeat prescriptions via the NHS App or NHS website, and have them sent to a pharmacy of your choice.

Learn more about the NHS App

Your Local Pharmacy

Pharmacy Ordering / Collection Service

Pharmacies offer a prescription collection service from our Practice

Your pharmacy can also order your medication on your behalf. This saves you time and unnecessary visits to the Practice. Please contact the Pharmacy of your choice for more information if you wish to use this service.

About pharmacists

As qualified healthcare professionals, pharmacists can offer advice on minor illnesses such as:

  • coughs
  • colds
  • sore throats
  • tummy trouble
  • aches and pains

They can also advise on medicine that you can buy without a prescription.

Find a pharmacy

Dossette Box Requests

If you feel you or your relative needs a dossette box, then please speak to your pharmacist, who will be able to consider your request.

They will let us know if the request is approved, and we will update prescriptions accordingly.

Find a pharmacy

In Person

Important

Please do not hand prescription requests to the reception staff at the front desk as they are often very busy, so the request may stay at reception until the end of the day.

Requests will make their way to the team much more quickly and safely if they are placed in the letter box.

If you are not able to use the online options, then please put your request in the letter box in the green door to the left of the main doors of Clevedon Medical Centre.

This is emptied by the prescribing team at regular intervals throughout the day and ensures the quickest turnaround. These should be placed in the post box outside on the green door to the left of the main entrance.

Paper requests include:

  • The tick box slip you will have received when you collected your previous medication - please ensure that you tick the items you require
  • Handwritten notes
  • The prescription request forms available from the surgery

By Post

You can post your prescription slip or written request to us at the Practice.

Paper requests include:

  • The tick box slip you will have received when you collected your previous medication - please ensure that you tick the items you require
  • Handwritten notes
  • The prescription request forms available from the surgery

Medication Queries

Please get in touch with the surgery to raise a query about your medication.

Contact us

Repeat Dispensing

Repeat Dispensing (or “batch” prescriptions) is a different way of obtaining your medication:

  • the surgery will generate a “repeatable” prescription, which will be made available at the pharmacy on the dates when it is due, without the need for you to order  a prescription from the surgery each time.
  • The exact duration of the prescription/number of issues will depend on your medication and the dates of your next review/s or blood tests, but it may be up to a maximum of 12 months.
  • Once you collect the last prescription from your batch, you should contact the practice to organise a new batch and any pending reviews; then a new batch prescription can be issued.
  • This system typically works very well if you are on a small number (four or less) of medications which are long term and are not likely to change , as it removes the need for you to order your medication from the practice each time. This system also helps to reduce the significant workload for your GP and practice staff in generating repeat prescriptions which means that this time can be used to improve patient care in other ways.
  • Repeat Dispensing will not work very well if your medication is changing or likely to change in the near future.
  • Note Controlled Drugs such as morphine, tramadol and diazepam cannot be prescribed in this way due. 

You can find out more from your community pharmacist. If you think this system may be more convenient that the traditional “Repeat” system, please call our reception team to arrange a telephone conversation to discuss whether this can be set up for you. We already have  many  patients on this system but we believe there are more patients who could benefit from it.

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.

When going abroad you can take your NHS medications with you.

Please visit the NHS website for the latest Prescription Charges

These charges apply in England only. In Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales prescriptions are free of charge.

Further Information

Find a Pharmacy

Use the NHS Pharmacy finder to locate pharmacies near you.

Find a pharmacy

Electronic Prescription Service

The Electronic Prescription Service (EPS) sends electronic prescriptions from GP surgeries to pharmacies. Eventually EPS will remove the need for most paper prescriptions.

Learn more about the Electronic Prescription Service

Prescriptions we do not offer

Fear of Flying

We are often asked to prescribe sedative drugs, such as diazepam (Valium), for fear of flying. We have recently agreed a practice policy (effective July 2023) that we will no longer prescribe these drugs for fear of flying.

See our fear of flying policy for details

Private prescriptions

GPs are sometimes asked to take over prescriptions for specialist medications under a "shared care" agreement. This is optional, and GPs do not have to agree unless they feel confident and have the capacity to do so. This means that private doctors continue to be responsible for ongoing prescriptions. Before seeing a private doctor, check that they can provide long-term prescriptions, monitoring, and reviews if needed.

Due to high demand and pressures on GP services, we are no longer in a position to take over any shared care prescribing for private providers, as this is a service that is completely unfunded. It includes all private ADHD prescribing and right-to-choose prescribing. Please continue getting your prescriptions from your private provider.

See our Non NHS Services page for pricing

Shared care prescribing

TBC