Nightmare getting medication

[Lovecatssowonderfullypretty]

I have a chronic condition visiting unfortunately relapsed in September.

Because of this I'm not allowed to drive for several months.

I live very rurally and my surgery is about 30 minutes drive away.

No others closer.

No public transport whete I live.

Surgery did have delivery car but have been told as I'm not housebound so can't use it.

Cannot cycle for health reasons.

Surgery refuses to do online ordering and delivery.

I begged the outside manager for help, explaining that I would have to go off my needs. He said tough.

Yes I have friends and family but they are helping me do much stm and it means then taking off time in office hours.

Any thoughts?

Online pharmacy.

You choose one - I use Pharmacy2U which is Lloyds Pharmacy but the online version. But Boots, etc work the same. You fill in your details and what surgery you use and what medications you take and then they sort it all electronically with the GP.

You don’t need to get the actual prescription slip, you don’t need to go to your GP, it just happens. All prescriptions are electronic now. There should never be a reason you need to go to the GP for them, unless you are having a medication review (and even those you can do by phone, I have my asthma review by phone).

Then you log in to the pharmacy website and request the medicines you want from the list of repeat prescriptions, they confirm with your GP, and then they ship them to you free in the post. It takes maybe 3-4 days from requesting the repeat to when the postman shows up with it.

It doesn’t cost anything more than your usual prescription costs if you pay them. Pre-payment certificate and medical exemption applies, if you have it. You just enter the number once and you don’t have to do it every time.

It’s very easy. I live rurally and GP is 30 minutes away. I haven’t collected a prescription from the GP in a decade!

I don't think they are allowed to refuse. I could be wrong but I was under the impression it was a requirement of GP contracts that they allow online prescription ordering.

I can't see why they object anyway. You order online or over the phone. The prescription is digital now and it sent to whichever pharmacy you specify. Mine go automatically to an online one who post it to me.

@Lovecatssowonderfullypretty I don’t think you probably understand how to use online pharmacy.

On your medical record there will be or you can add a nominated pharmacy.
Look online and choose somewhere you’re happy with that offers delivery.
Then get the surgery to add the online pharmacy to your record. When you request your prescription the instruction will be sent electronically to the online pharmacy, who will then prepare it and put it in the post to you.

You don’t need to go to the doctors to pick up a prescription for online services. You literally let the online pharmacy know which items you’d like and they electronically send the request to the doctors for them to authorise. It’s the easiest thing ever. It’s literally changed my life.

Surgeries can not refuse to do online ordering via the NHS App as long as a gp has put the medication on repeat. There are loads of online pharmacies who will deliver to you.

Can you not use pharmacy2u or similar? You register and then order repeat meds through them and they get posted out

I know that but OP has stated that her surgery will not send it over electronically to the online pharmacies, that she has to come in and collect it.

If this is the case she needs to complain to the practice manager as every doctors surgery should do this now.

Thanks everyone...I did disk to the practice manager who said they don't do it, made a complaint and have CQC feedback.

On an amusing g note, I nearly cried at the Age Concern suggestion; I'm only 39!!!

Is your MP any use OP? You can email or phone them and ask them to suggest how you can get help. My previous MP was very proactive, even got me a hospital appointment when I was getting nowhere with choose and book. They have a lot of clout if they want to.

For those of you commenting that @Lovecatssowonderfullypretty"should" be getting her scripts electronically and implying that she is somehow deficient by not arranging it and needs to somehow insist more and is too passive, I have screenshot a page from my doctors surgery regarding their stance on electronic prescriptions. As in, they have taken advice and don't "have" to. I live rurally too and it is a PITA for me and some of my friends who have all, at one time or another, signed up with an online pharmacy only to have the request rejected and leaving us without medications for several days whilst it all has to be sorted out and given in to the local pharmacy again as we don't know it isn't going to happen.

As stated previously, the GP surgery are clear, on a poster in reception, they receive a small income from every script filled at their attached pharmacy but I also suspect they do not have the admin staff to deal with sorting out electronic scripts, it's a small surgery covering a large area. Meanwhile, we receive prescriptions because we are ill, we can't collect the prescriptions because we are ill. Go figure.

My surgery doesn't. I am in Wales though so it might be different to England. Up until last my week my local pharmacy would request my repeat prescription every 3 months, and I would go to the pharmacy to collect it. Great. When I went last week I was given a letter to say I could no longer do this as the GP surgery has stopped this. So now I have to request the prescription, go to the surgery and collect the prescription, then to the pharmacy. I am a nurse, and I absolutely hate the difference in services, health equality and health care across the UK.

I would look online and see if there are any free services in your area, as pp have suggested, there is sometimes services run by volunteers for these sorts of jobs.

Yeah, it’s called a dispensing practice when they have a pharmacy in house; they have to also have part of their practice population who live more than a certain distance from a chemists. Some dispensing practices won’t/don’t do EPS (electronic prescribing) at all. The surgery I’m registered with doesn’t (I’m a GP and I find this really challenging due to my working hours).

so, to be fair to the OP, what she’s describing is exactly what can be incredibly hard about living rurally. It’s already quite isolating, but a lot of services are developed and implemented with a certain population density in mind; which is why I’m worried about the 10 year plan and “neighbourhood health services”, coz who knows where that’ll be based.

OP - is there a “friends” group of your surgery? Some places have volunteers who might help. Other options might be other ppl who volunteer, like church groups, maybe? I’m so sorry you’re in this situation, I hope you get it sorted.

All NHS prescriptions are stored in the NHS Spine through the
Electronic Prescription Service (EPS), which allows GPs to send prescriptions electronically to a patient's nominated pharmacy. Repeat prescriptions can also be sent this way, and both acute and repeat prescriptions are downloaded from the Spine by the pharmacy.

How frustrating!!

Write to the complaints team at your ICB, copy in your MP and the practice manager - ask them how you are supposed to get your prescription or medication while you are unable to drive.

Is there another GP practice nearby you can transfer to?

Ask any local pharmacies if they deliver.

Is your GP surgery able to issue electronic prescriptions or do they only offer paper prescriptions? If paper, ask them to post it to you or to a pharmacy (you may have to supply stamped envelopes if they are claiming they 'can't do this!). If electronic ask your practice to make that pharmacy your 'nominated pharmacy'.

Ask you GP to prescribe 3 months worth of meds so you only have to take a taxi trip once every 3 months.

I'm not sure I fully understand. The Doctor doesn't need to see you to hand the prescription ? All prescription i thought were pulled down from the spine nowadays and so they dont need the physical paper. They can be sent to your preferred pharmacy direct and that nominated pharmacy can be an online one. Or another that is more convenient for family to pick up? You can set your preferred pharmacy in the NHS app and request the repeat prescription that way

Eta: i see the practice may be a dispensing practice and refuse to do electronic prescriptions?

I have read your post. To be it’s saying you live rurally can’t get to the doctors they won’t do online ordering whatever that is

so join a online pharmacy and get the dr to send the prescription there. Most only need a annual review and mine is done by phone

if necessary push for it

The GP won't send it electronically. Some GP practices don't- OP has said this and so needs to get to the surgery to collect the prescription to then send it to the online pharmacy.

Can't you just get the prescription and then get it filled on line? Use a taxi, or get a taxi to pick up the prescription? I thought surgeries will normally send prescriptions to your chosen pharmacy and you could pick one that will deliver. Ask the NHS helpline what to do if you can't find a simple solution, this can't be a rare problem.

The rules have changed in Wales, its a measure to reduce waste as pharmacies were requesting medication that the patient didn't require. Happened to multiple people in my family from a range of pharmacies. I now order my medication online with my gp using the NHS wales app and the GP send it to my nominated pharmacy. I get a text from the pharmacy and can collect from their self service collection point (like a giant atm)
You may have similar in your area.

Thats good to know. Hopefully I will be able to order online soon, the surgery are currently in the process of changing systems and putting info on the app.

She’s literally just said they are refusing to do this

https://www.royalmail.com/health

Might this help?