You may order a repeat prescription by one of the following methods:
1. Tick the items you require on the detachable counterfoil from your last prescription or put the request in writing including your name and date of birth
2. By fax to 020 7795 8480
3. Using the SystmOnline prescription service
4. By e-mail to abingdonmedical@nhs.net
(Remember the above email address is to be used for repeat prescription requests only. All other queries should go directly to reception.)
From 13th February 2020 we will be processing most prescriptions electronically - please nominate your preferred pharmacy.
Please allow 2 working days between ordering and collecting your medication from your nominated pharmacy.
If you would like it posted back please enclose an SAE allowing for possible postal delay. Please note there will be no more signed paper prescriptions, a token with a unique bar code will be issued instead.
We do not accept repeat prescription requests over the telephone in the interest of your safety.
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. If you know you'll have to pay for a lot of NHS prescriptions, they act as a prescription "season ticket" and can be purchased for 3 months or a year. A PPC covers all of your NHS prescriptions, including NHS dental prescriptions, no matter how many items you need.
Prescription costs are reviewed in April each year, to check the latest prices go to the NHS Choices web site:-
http://www.nhs.uk/NHSEngland/Healthcosts/Pages/Prescriptioncosts.aspx
ePrescribing(EPS)
This is available at the Abingdon.
We are upgrading to the next phase of the Electronic Prescription Service (EPS) which will mean that almost all our prescriptions will be processed electronically from 13th February 2020.
It is advisable for all patients to specify a nominated pharmacy. There will be no more signed paper prescriptions, a token with a unique bar code can be issued instead.
Electronic prescriptions help save the NHS money.
You can read more about EPS on the NHS website: https://digital.nhs.uk/services/electronic-prescription-service/phase-4/prescriber-information.
If you collect repeat prescriptions you will not have to visit your GP practice just to pick up a token prescription. Instead, your GP will send the prescription electronically to the place you choose, saving you time
The prescription is an electronic message so there is no paper prescription to lose..
You will have more choice about where to get your medicines from because they can be collected from a pharmacy near to where you live, work or shop.
Ask someone at your GP surgery or at any pharmacy that offers EPS to add your nomination for you. Nomination means you choose a place for your GP practice to electronically send your prescription to. You don't need a computer to use EPS.
You can change your nomination or cancel it and get a paper prescription. If you don't want your prescription to be sent electronically just tell your GP. If you want to change or cancel your nomination speak to any pharmacist that offers EPS, or your GP practice. Tell them before your next prescription is due or your prescription may be sent to the wrong place.
EPS is reliable, secure and confidential. Your electronic prescription will be seen by the same people in GP practices, pharmacies and NHS prescription payment and fraud agencies that see your paper prescription now.
Sometimes dispensers may see that you have nominated another dispenser. For example, if you forget who you have nominated and ask them to check or, if you have nominated more than one dispenser.
If the prescription needs to be cancelled the GP can electronically cancel and issue a new prescription without you having to return to the practice – saving you extra trips.
You may not have to wait as long at the pharmacy as your repeat prescriptions can be made ready before you arrive.
Dispensers will also see all the items on your reorder slip if you are on repeat prescriptions
Prescribing Wisely
Last year your local NHS spent £15 million on products, including paracetamol, that you can easily buy in pharmacies, high street shops and supermarkets.
The demand for healthcare is constantly rising, but budgets are not increasing at the same rate. We need to save nearly £135 million across the eight boroughs, around 5% of our annual expenditure, in the financial year 2017/18 to balance our budget.
NHS North West London Collaboration of Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) is launching two programmes to change the way we prescribe medicines.
Earlier this year, NW London CCGs engaged with public and stakeholders which has resulted in the following two proposals:
Proposal 1 - Reducing prescribing of medicines and products that can be purchased without a prescription
We would like to spend less on medicines you can buy without a prescription so as to free up funds for other valuable NHS services.
The Abingdon Medical Practice is involved in the ‘Prescribing Wisely’ campaign to try and reduce spending on medicines and to reduce waste. If a medicine you need can be bought without a prescription, your GP may ask if you are willing to buy it. If you are not, it will be prescribed.
This also means that if you require that medicine again you don’t need to make a doctor’s appointment but can get it straight from your community pharmacist, saving both you and the doctor time.
When you buy one of these medicines at a pharmacy, it is worth asking for the least expensive form of the medicine.
Proposal 2 - Reducing waste associated with repeat prescribing
Another aspect of the Prescribing Wisely campaign is to try and reduce the number of medicines that are wasted. Some of this waste can be reduced if people request their repeat prescriptions directly from the surgery, rather than allowing a community pharmacy to request prescriptions on their behalf. Nobody knows which medicines you are really running out of better than you (or your carer).
The groups of people exempted from these proposals are:
- School age children, if the product needs to be given at school.
- Care home residents
- Individuals with funded care packages that require a Carer to administer a medicine or treatment
- Anyone officially declared homeless
- People with a diagnosis of dementia
- People with a diagnosed learning disability
For further information, click here.
NHS charges
These charges apply in England only. In Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales prescriptions are free of charge.
- Prescription (per item): £9.00
- 12-month prepayment certificate (PPC): £104.00
- 3-month PPC: £29.10
If you will have to pay for four or more prescription items in three months, or more than 15 items in 12 months, you may find it cheaper to buy a PPC.
There is further information about prescription exemptions and fees on the NHS website