Prescriptions

Urgent Prescription Policy-Patient Leaflet

Due to an increasing number of requests for repeat prescriptions to be issued urgently, we have had to review how we handle these requests in order to provide safe and consistent service to all our patients. Requests for prescriptions outside the normal prescription protocol impacts significantly on both doctor and administration staff time.

If you ask for an urgent repeat prescription, you will need to give the reason for your request. You may also be required to contact the police, in some cases, if the medication has been lost and it is a controlled drug and also provide a crime number.

The majority of hospital prescriptions are non-urgent and will also be processed through the normal prescription process.

Many medications can safely be missed for a few days. We will not issue urgent prescriptions for items that can be bought over the counter or for non-essential medication and you may be informed that your medication will be processed following the normal repeat prescription process. If your medication cannot be missed, the item will be issued as required. All urgent repeat prescriptions must be collected in person from the Medical Practice Centre.

Please make sure you request any medication before you run out: prescriptions take two working days to process – scripts handed in on Friday may not be ready until Tuesday. The practice can send most prescriptions direct to a pharmacy of your choice. Contact reception to nominate your pharmacy and, each time you request a repeat script, your script will be sent to your nominated pharmacy, ready for you to pick up or even delivered (if available).

You can also order your repeat prescription on-line, any time day or night via www.kingussiemedicalpractice.co.uk  if you register for our on-line service. Please note that Online Prescriptions still require two working days to be processed.

Medications that will not be issued urgently

• Anything that can be purchased over the counter eg paracetamol, emollients, ibuprofen, low dose co-codamol, adcal
• vitamins eg b12, folic acid, vitamin D,
• antidepressants
• statins · Erectile dysfunction drugs
• Thyroxine

Repeat Prescriptions 

You can order repeat prescriptions via our website www.kingussiemedicalpractice.co.uk or by handing a slip in at the surgery direct

Please note we cannot accept telephoned repeat prescription requests. This decision has been taken on patient safety grounds.  Please order in enough time to allow 7 days between ordering a prescription, and picking it up at a pharmacy.

Community pharmacists and their teams are doing their best during these difficult times to make sure that everyone gets the medicines they need. Help them to help you:

• Follow Government advice and do not visit a pharmacy if you or anyone in your household has a temperature or a new and continuous cough, even if mild.
• Plan ahead where possible. Pharmacies are working hard to provide prescriptions, but please try to order your next prescription seven days before it is due. This will help the pharmacist deal with urgent requests and queries.
• If you are handing in your prescription, please put your contact details on it so pharmacies can let you know when your medicines are ready. That means you won’t need to be in the pharmacy for as long. Please don’t ring the pharmacy unless it’s urgent.
• If you are self-isolating please ask family, friends or neighbours to arrange to pick up your medication for you. If you don’t have anyone who can collect your medicine, speak to your community pharmacy for advice about how they can help.
• If you are well and can visit the pharmacy yourself, think about how you can help family, friends and neighbours who are self-isolating by collecting their medicines on their behalf (you may need to take ID with you and will need to know the name and address of the person you are collecting for).
• Do not ask for extra medicine or an increase in prescription duration as this could lead to overall medicines shortages. Continue to request as normal and do not stockpile.

Unused medicines cost NHS Highland over £3m every year.

Stocks of unused medicines also pose a safety risk and can increase confusion about what medicines people should be taking. There are also important clinical benefits of reducing waste.

• Check before you order

• Only order the medicines you need

• Talk to the pharmacy teams in your local pharmacy or GP practice if you have questions about your medicines

• Bring your medicines into hospital

• Unused medicines are a safety risk

• Unused medicines cannot be recycled but can be returned to your local pharmacy for safe disposal

We have made a slight change to our prescription ordering. you will need to delete any bookmarks you have to the old website links as will no longer be available.

If you do not see your medication listed

If you cannot see all of  your medications then it could be that it needs to be re-issued by the Doctor.  If this is the case then please type what medications you require, and why, in the free text area of the comments box. Please be aware that as the reception team need to pass these requests to the Doctor to authorise, there could be slightly longer turnaround times for such requests.

Repeat Prescriptions

If you take regular medications you will find a list of your medicines attached to each prescription. Please use the latest list to let us know which medicines you require. Any amendments to this repeat prescription list can only be made with a doctor’s permission and may take longer to process.

Please note we cannot accept telephoned repeat prescription requests. This decision has been taken on patient safety grounds.

You can get your request to us in any of the ways listed below:

• Online – please click on the link at the top of this page to securely request a repeat prescription online
• Hand your request into the receptionist at the surgery during opening hours or pop it into the red letterbox in the surgery entrance.
• Post it to the Practice, enclosing a stamped, addressed envelope if you want the prescription posted back to you.
• Hand completed re-order slip to pharmacy in Kingussie.

Please allow up to two working days before collecting your prescription from the surgery and up to  4 working days if collecting completed prescription from the pharmacy. Medications not on your repeat list may take longer to process.

Requests received after 12:00 may not be processed until the following day.

Boots Kingussie operate a collection scheme, which may be helpful to you. 48 hours notice is required for prescription orders, more at weekends and bank holidays. Please be aware that it may take longer to dispense from your local Pharmacies to which we have no control.

Pharmacies

The pharmacy nearest to the surgery is Boots the Chemist in High St, Kingussie.

There is also a branch of Boots in Grampian Road, Aviemore (about 11 miles from Kingussie).

Medication Reviews

Patients on repeat medication will be asked to speak with a pharmacist, a doctor or visit a nurse practitioner or practice nurse at least once a year.  This is to review regular medications.  Notifications should appear on your repeat slip.

Please ensure that you book an appropriate appointment to avoid unnecessary delays to further prescriptions.