Collecting medication from surgery

mrsyardbroom

I don't know if anyone can help with this. My husband has repeat prescriptions and each time he needs a new batch of medicaton he has to send a stamped addressed envelope to his doctor's surgery and they send the prescription back to him. He has to take this to the nearest pharmacist which is more than four miles away.
A friend told us that they can get all this done online. They simply inform the main surgery that they need a further batch of medication and the surgery sends it to their local surgery for them to pick up. We thought this was a great idea and sure enough the service was advertised on the surgery website along with a form to complete. All was OK until this morning when my husband went to collect his medication. He was told that we live too near a pharmacist for them to provide this service. Our friend actually lives nearer to the town than us and he has no problem. I understood that if you lived more than a certain distance from a pharmacist you were entitled to collect your prescription from the doctor. Has anyone else heard of this? Can anyone help?

elsien

A lot of pharmacists do the order, dispense and deliver service for you, and to the best of my knowledge you don't have to go through the doctor, you arrange it directly with the pharmacy. Lloyds offer the service, as does our local independent pharmacy -I'm not sure about Boots.
I'm also slightly baffled as to why your GP is posting prescriptions out, unless it's easier for you that way? We always collect ours directly from the surgery then take it to the nearest chemist. Unless I've misunderstood what youi're saying.

Edit - quick google of Boots and they also can do it for you.
http://www.boots.com/en/Pharmacy-Health/Prescription-Services/Repeat-prescriptions-online/

mrsyardbroom

We've finally got an answer from the doctor's surgery. They made a mistake and we have been told we can collect from the surgery after all. It's only taken three years to sort it out! The chemist can't deliver because we live too far away and that's the whole point. Because we live in a rural area the surgery dispenses rather than the pharmacist. We live much nearer to the surgery and so we can now just order the medication online and collect from the nearest surgery. When you live in a town you would normally just go to the pharmacy with your prescription but if you live over four miles away it means a trip in the car every time and we can't afford the diesel and parking any more.

agrinnall

It's taken 3 years and you got an answer from the surgery an hour after posting on MSE? Just shows how much power we've got :rotfl:.

What you describe is what I do, although the surgery is 6 miles away it's a lot closer than the nearest pharmacy, which is 17 miles. I just email my repeat prescription to the surgery then call in to collect it a day or two later.

luci

Where we live, ordering of repeat prescriptions can be done direct with the pharmacy and they hold a copy of the repeat prescription there. You just call the pharmacy to order what you need and it's ready to collect 2 days later. They also deliver locally to the elderly or disabled.

John_Pierpoint

http://www.pulsetoday.co.uk/newsarticle-content/-/article_display_list/12726769/gps-back-rollout-of-electronic-prescriptions

mrsyardbroom

This is great if you live near enough to a pharmacy to have the prescriptions delivered. For people who don't though, it's worth asking if you can pick up the medication from the doctor.

John_Pierpoint

There are regulations about this and I think they differed depending on where you live in the former United Kingdom.

When I was looking for a local GP, the local offerings were pretty carp, so I was delighted when a young couple set up in a caravan in the village, she was a pharmacist and he was the GP. In spite of moving out of the village, I have stuck with the practice which is now about five miles away. It is so convenient getting the drugs at the same time as seeing the doctor and the practice has grown (planners are sympathetic to GP's;)).

Strictly between you and me, my nearest pharmacy is nearer than the surgery and from time to time, I get a letter saying that my current location has been reviewed and I no longer qualify for obtaining prescriptions from my doctor.
So far I have managed to see this off by sending in a copy of an Ordnance survey map and asking for my nearest pharmacy to be identified.:D That produces a reply that I have been re-reviewed and the status quo prevails.

I am afraid this is just a little trade war between doctors and chemists. The latest trick is to identify doctors with a nice little earner, by asking for figures under the freedom of information act.
Then simply open a chemist shop next door and obtain all the doctor's patients as customers.

tanith

luci wrote: »

Where we live, ordering of repeat prescriptions can be done direct with the pharmacy and they hold a copy of the repeat prescription there. You just call the pharmacy to order what you need and it's ready to collect 2 days later. They also deliver locally to the elderly or disabled.

I've just had a chat with my pharmacy when collecting my script and was told in future that they will automatically collect and refill my prescription every 12wks and she gave me a card with the date of my next pickup date on it.. so now I don't have to do a thing other than walk to the pharmacy and pick it up :T but I'm very lucky I know , many people have a real problem with this fundamental service..

Farway

tanith wrote: »

I've just had a chat with my pharmacy when collecting my script and was told in future that they will automatically collect and refill my prescription every 12wks and she gave me a card with the date of my next pickup date on it.. so now I don't have to do a thing other than walk to the pharmacy and pick it up :T

Now that does sound a useful service, I normally just drop my repeat prescription off as I am [assing, but an auto renew sounds great, I will ask next time I in the chemist

longforgotten

My Mum's surgery does dispense medicines but does not have a pharmacist. I was amazed to find that there is no legal requirement for a doctors surgery to have a pharmacist ?....and wants seven days notice for a repeat prescription ! Anyway, the surgery has an automated phone service for repeat prescriptions so I ring and leave my request, they send the scrip to the local pharmacy and I pick the medicines up from there.

I have the chance to ask the pharmacist any questions I want. Check if cough medicines ok to take with tablets etc. etc.