Dr surgery stopping repeat prescription ordering over the phone

[elliejjtiny]

At the moment I order my repeats over the phone, then pick up the meds from the chemist 2 days later. Prescription phone line is very well used based on the amount of times I phone and the line is engaged. Dr surgery has now announced that the prescription ordering phone line is going and we either have to do it online or go into the surgery (an expensive bus ride, 2 hour walk or getting a lift) each time and fill out a form. Then there is the added complication that you aren't allowed in the Drs surgery to fill out the form if you or a household member has tested positive for covid (which is understandable but it's another reason why phoning them is easier). To use the online service you need to provide photo id which I haven't got and neither have the dc's. In our town there are a lot of elderly people and lots of families living in poverty. So lots of people who would struggle to use the internet and lots of people with children who don't have passports. Surgery said on their announcement not to phone them to discuss it. I don't get why they are getting rid of their prescription phone line when so many people use/need it.

You can pay for a provisional driving license which is legal ID even without intention of driving.
Might help going forwards.

OP a citizen's card is £15 if that helps

Will a local chemist do it for free? Many do. Mum gets her repeat prescriptions that way.

The principle is awful, I agree.

Phone lines cost a lot to maintain and manage. I find it very bizarre that you dont have any photo id. It's a very common proof of ID request for many things, in the past 18 months I've used it for re-mortgage application, bank accounts, registering my DD at nursery...

My mum had this with her surgery OP. She simply told them she was elderly and not prepared to use the online system and that they had to make reasonable allowances for age and disability. They did back down making a big thing about it being a one-off but it wasn't.

Just make it clear that it is not acceptable to restrict access to care in this way. Even being allowed to request by email would be easier than the online systems.

The phone line at our surgery kept making mistakes due to pronunciation. So they stopped ages ago. Usually the chemist will do it for you.

Lots of pharmacies will order for you. Lloyds and Boots are two off the top of my head who will deliver but your local pharmacy may also have a similar service.

Alternatively email the practice with your order if you can't go there or post it.

It is much safer to order in writing than verbally over the phone, less mistakes happen.

Have you tried ordering through your pharmacy? Many pharmacies will allow you to phone/email them and they will place the order on your behalf. Some have their own app you could use.
The NHS app allows you to order medicines but I think this is another thing that requires photo ID to fully set up.
Also, some (not all) surgeries have an email you can order through and often have a prescription request box on the outside of the building so you can drop your order in when they're closed.

If you are in England you can use pharmacy2u, order online and deliver by post. No need to go the doctor or pharmacy.

Our surgery hasn't taken repeat prescription requests over the phone for years. You either fill in a form at the desk (or used to pre covid) email them or fill out an online form. I was told it's to reduce errors. Patients often cannot remember the exact name of the medication or mispronounce it which can be a problem if they are taking lots of different drugs and get them muddled etc. Receptionist also could mishear and choose the wrong one from a patient's list. Saves a lot of time and prevents the wrong one being sent and people running out of medication.

As above ours has been the same since pre Covid. They would accept a written request by post but if you ask they include a repeat form you can just hand it into the pharmacy and get then to order it for you

Ask your pharmacy whether they have an ordering service. Boots definitley do it.

We get over 100 prescription requests a day. If these came over the phone would be a nightmare plus the risk of errors is high. We do online/ post/from local pharmacy/ slip through letterbox.we stopped this outdated unsafe system 20 years ago. All our patients manage. Even the old ones.

My doctor's haven't taken phone requests in years.
It's easy to do online and there are other ways to do it if you're not able to do that.
Many people have smartphones now and the NHS app also allows you to change pharmacies to collect from so if you're away from home it's easy to get medicine.

I phone my local pharmacy for our repeat prescriptions and its them that takes the info to the GP and then brings the prescription back to the pharmacy and then I collect the items a few days later. Do any of your local chemists offer a similar service?

Am amazed they were still doing repeat scripts over the phone - this has been known to be unsafe for years due to the amount of errors people can make saying their meds over the phone.

Plus of course it basically takes up a phone line for the whole day for the surgery just on repeat requests.

I'd get the NHS app which doesn't need photo ID and order from there.

Ours did this years ago! It's annoying and inconvenient however App is easy enough to use just have to remember to do it 5 days before you need it.

I order mine via the chemist so phone chemist and order and they put in to GP and so on - but it takes 3 days.

I think it would probably be a good idea for you to get some form of photo ID anyway, as it will come in more and more useful as time goes on.
Im quite surprised though that you're at a GP surgery that's a 2 hour walk away! That's a huge catchment. Just for practical purposes would it not make sense to move to a closer practice if there is one?

I understand the frustration OP, I am currently working with elderly people and some don’t have access to the internet and nor do they have family who can order for them . It’s become a boggle for me and something I want to address with the local primary care groups.

What is the provision for those who can’t order online and can’t get to the GP surgery to drop prescription requests off and have no family or neighbours to help.

Driving me mad.

We've been ordering prescriptions online through the surgery and when approved get them delivered free by a local, online only, pharmacy.

We started before lockdown and it's brilliant; 99/100 they arrive the same day. Last weeks repeats were ordered at 11am delivered at 2pm.

You can register with pharmacy2U and have it delivered.

My pharmacy used to order for me, but now use the Prescription Ordering Direct service. They have access to your records, so they can see what medication you take.
"Prescription Ordering Direct Service
A new and convenient way to order your repeat prescriptions starting 29th January 2020. Please call 0808 164 7678 (Freephone) available Monday to Friday 8am to 4pm (excluding Bank Holidays). For more information on this service please click here.

POD now have a text back service in place which enables patients to text the number below with the name of your surgery and you will receive a call back by 4pm the next working day."

My Link pharmacy gets my prescriptions for me.
I just phone the chemist and they get them done via the Elecrtronic Prescription Service which, I assumed, most GPs used.
You just need to fill a form out at the chemist's.

I work in a GP surgery and we've bought this policy in too. The amount of people who have suddenly become computer whizzes with their bloody nhs app for covid purposes makes me reassured they can do something simple like order a prescription online too?

I would suggest setting up a repeat 28 day service with your local pharmacy or dispensary, problem solved.

If your surgery is a 2 hour walk away I would suggest you may need to find one nearer incase you are considered to be out of catchment.