Changes To Dispensary Service
As you know, now is a difficult time for General Practice as we face rising costs and less income than we had in 2018/19.
As a result, from 18th November 2024 we will making some changes to the dispensary.
Phone Lines
The dispensary phone line is currently open from 10am-12pm and 2.30-4.30pm each day.
From the 18th November it will only be available from 10am to 12pm.
The current call volume is more than we can handle, and we would remind patients of the following preferred methods for ordering repeat prescriptions as we try to manage the calls we receive -
· Request via NHS app
· Request via SystmOnline
We also take repeat requests via our outside postbox and over the counter, although we do prefer electronic requests as they save time for us, and in turn are quicker for you, the patient (as well as giving you an audit trail that we have received your request).
The dispensary phone line should not be used for ordering repeat prescriptions – if you need a repeat prescription, please use one of the methods listed above. From the 18th, we will be politely asking you to use an alternative method and only accepting queries through the phone line.
Hospital Discharges and Medications
We get a lot of queries from patients concerned about medication when they are released from hospital, or seen in an outpatient clinic. Here are the official “rules” –
You should not be discharged from hospital with less than 7 days of medication (unless less than 7 days is clinically appropriate).
When you attend a secondary care clinic, one of the following is likely to happen in regards to your medication –
· If the consultant wants you to take new medication, but does not consider this to be urgent, they will write to the practice and the dispensary team will usually notify you within 5-7 working days that this has been sent to your requested pharmacy.
· If your consultant needs you to urgently start taking a new medication, or they need to immediately alter your dose, they should provide you with a prescription for enough medication to last you until we can reasonably be expected to process your letter – realistically this is 5-7 working days.
If you have not been given enough medication by secondary care, please revert back to them, as they have not followed the correct process and we will not be able to action their letter more quickly than our 5-7 day turnaround, which is dealt with in strict chronological order.
We send an SMS or call you to let you know that we have processed your letter, so please don’t call us until we get to 5 working days after your secondary care appointment / discharge.
Dispensary Window
On a Friday after 5pm, we may not always have enough staff to keep the dispensary window open. If it is closed, there will be a sign redirecting you to the main reception desk, where someone will be able to help you.
Thank you
Debbie