If you have a condition that needs continued medication, your printed prescription will normally show a medication list on the white (tear-off) side. The pharmacy will give you this list, and it may be used as a record to order a further supply.

To order your repeat prescription either:

• Use the NHS App (Information can be found here).
• Use Patient Access (click here to go to Patient Access)
• Email us a request at requestprescription@nhs.net (providing your details within the email).
• Tick the items you require on your printed prescription and drop it into our external letterbox, or post it to us.

To ensure accuracy and to try and reduce waiting times on the telephone we no longer accept medication requests via telephone call unless a patient is housebound and other methods of ordering have not proven to be possible.

Your prescription will normally be ready for you, or your designated pharmacy, to pick up two working days later. Repeat prescriptions will occasonally be declined and you will be requested to talk with your doctor for a reassessment.

You can also sign up with your preferred chemist for electronic prescriptions (see opposite). Housebound patients may be able to have their medication delivered directly to them. Please contact your pharmacy for more details.

Please be aware that our local pharmacies are increasingly challenged by the COVID-19 pandemic due to necessary staff absence and need for social distancing to be maintained. We ask that you are patient with them, as without their work we can't deliver the medications needed.

You can find more information on the Electronic Prescribing Service here.

What assistance can you get?

In England, around 90% of prescription items are dispensed free. This includes exemptions from charging for those on low incomes, such as:

• Those on specific benefits, or through the NHS Low Income Scheme
• Those who are exempt due to their age.
• Those with certain medical conditions.

For more information on eligibility and assistance with prescription costs, you can visit the NHS website.

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

• Prescription (per item): £9.65
• 12-month pre-payment certificate (PPC): £111.60
• 3-month PPC: £31.25

If you will have 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.

• Telephone advice and order line 0845 850 0030
• General Public - Buy or Renew a PPC On-line

You can find further information on NHS prescription charges here.

Patients being seen through the NHS by a nurse or doctor must be issued a prescriptions by the NHS. Conversely, patients being seen through private channels must be issued a private prescription. Private prescriptions commonly occur when a patient chooses to see a specialist outside of the NHS. It is Worcestershire NHS policy that the initial prescription must be paid privately, even if the repeat prescription may be available through the NHS.

There are a small list of drugs (directed by the government) that must be prescribed privately, even within an NHS consultation. The most common of these are medicines for erection issues, travel medicines, or some older sedative medications. When these prescriptions are handled by the pharmacy, they will make a handling charge to the patient in addition to the costs of the medication itself.

Patients from outside of the European Union will not normally be seen under the NHS and consequently, consultations and prescriptions will be privately charged. These fees can often be claimed back on travel insurance policies upon returning home, so ensure that receipts are kept where applicable.