Ordering a repeat prescription

Problems ordering your prescription online?  

Use the SystmOnline Support Centre before you call us.

Repeat prescriptions will be ready in 48 working hours from your request. Please note if your prescription request is NOT on your repeat prescription your request will take longer to process and the doctor may wish to speak with you. Delays may also occur if your medication request is different from what your doctor has prescribed for you.

We will return your prescription to you by post if a stamped addressed envelope is provided.

Many chemists offer a delivery and collection service. Speak to your preferred chemist directly for details. This means that you do not have to come to the surgery to collect your prescription and then take it to a chemist.

Prescribing Wisely

The NHS in NW London CCGs: Brent, Ealing, Harrow, Hillingdon, Hounslow, Hammersmith & Fulham, Kensington & Chelsea, and Westminster spent over £13 million in 2016 on products that can be bought without a prescription at community pharmacies.

The NHS is under pressure. Our budgets are not large enough to pay for all the treatments the public would like us to provide. We would therefore like to spend less on medicines you can buy without a prescription so as to free up funds for other valuable NHS services.

Practices across North West London are being asked to stop routinely prescribing medicines which are available to buy over the counter in pharmacies (and, in the case of some medicines, in supermarkets and other shops too). 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 willing to buy it, it will be prescribed.

More details can be found here

Here is a list of commonly prescribed medicines which are available without a prescription

Emergency Prescription Requests

Emergency prescription request are request for medication which you need within 24 hours to prevent you becoming severely unwell. Emergency medications include; epileptic medication, insulin, inhalers for lung conditions, emergency contraception and Epipen for anaphylaxis.

Emergency prescription requests are not requests for medication which have been ordered late. You should allow 48 working hours for routine repeat prescription requests. Please respect our staff, as it is your responsibility to ensure that your repeat prescription request is ordered in plenty of time.

Out of Hours Medicines

There is of course a huge range of useful non-prescription medicines available at chemists, but if you run out of a regular prescription medicines you can obtain a supply out of hours without a prescription from a pharmacist or other source so you should never be without – this could be dangerous.

Find a local pharmacy that will be open late.

Out of Hours Emergency Contraception

There are a variety of methods available, but it is essential you use it as soon as possible after the event for best results.

You can get the emergency contraceptive pill and the IUD for free from:

• GP – we will always fit you in urgently, please ask at reception.
• Your local Contraceptive clinic (find a clinic)
• A sexual health Clinic (find sexual health services)
• Some genitourinary medicine (GUM) clinics
• Some young people’s clinics (call 0800 567123)

You can also get the emergency contraceptive pill free from:

• Some pharmacies (find pharmacies near you)
• Most NHS walk-in centres and minor injuries units 
• Some Accident and Emergency departments

Over The Counter

Many excellent and important medicines are available Over The Counter (OTC) at pharmacies. They do not not need to be prescribed by a Doctor and indeed you can save yourself a lot of money as many are cheaper than the Prescription Charge. Pharmacists are highly trained in giving sensible advice about self-help for minor illness, please ask them.

Private Prescriptions

Private prescriptions are medication which your private Doctor has recommended for you on a private prescription. A private prescription is not written on an official NHS prescription and so is not paid for by the NHS. The cost of a private prescription is met wholly by the patient and is dictated by the cost of the medicine plus the pharmacists charge for supplying it. A prescription is a legal document for which the doctor, who has issued and signed it, is responsible for. Therefore, a NHS doctor cannot convert a private prescription to an NHS prescription. A doctor you see privately can’t issue an NHS prescription.

A GP in the surgery at which you are registered can only provide a private prescription if the drug is not available on the NHS.

Hospital Outpatient Prescriptions

These are commonly given as requests to the GP to prescribe, though sometimes the prescription will be intended for dispensing at the hospital pharmacy, especially if the need is urgent or the drugs are for hospital supply only.

Medication Reviews

Medication reviews are needed, usually every 6 or 12 months and we shall ask you to make an appointment with the doctor or nurse. There are certain important checks we need to perform to ensure your medicines are still doing their job and are not causing any problems and that your condition is monitored. When the computer indicates a review is due, please do not delay as the computer blocks any further issues once you are overdue. If you have been unable to come in time, please NEVER stop your medicines; let us know the circumstances and we shall issue a prescription to keep you going.

Synchronising Medicines

Ask us to help synchronise your medicines so you can request them all in one go.

Certain medicines such as the Contraceptive Pill or HRT (Hormone Replacement Therapy) can be supplied in 6 month quantities for your convenience but to do this the nurse or doctor may need to see you.

Non-repeat medicines, which you may have only occasionally, can be requested on a medication request form or on-line request but we may ask to see you.

Medications Abroad

Taking your medication abroad may require you to take a letter of authorisation with you, even in Europe. Every country has its own rules and it can be complex. Make sure you check in good time.