We are always reviewing our processes to ensure our service is safe, effective, caring, cost efficient and sustainable. As a rural practice our dispensaries provide an invaluable service and without patients using the dispensaries, if they are eligible (local to them), our surgery sites would be at risk of closing.
We recently reviewed our automative Repeat Dispensing Service and realised that it caused more risk than benefit for reasons explained below, so we took the decision to stop it and change it back to the previous system where we request patients to be responsible for ordering their repeat medication themselves.
We now request that patients/carers do not hand back their repeat slip every time they collect their medication but, instead, order what they need between 7 -10 days before their prescription is due. The quickest and easiest way to do this is by using the NHS App which is easy to download or by ordering it via our Website (reception will provide you with a Username and Password). Alternatively you can tick what you need on the paper repeat slip and drop it in to the surgery closest to you when you need to order it (7 -10 days). We do not accept emails for repeat prescription requests.
Previously we were allowing patients to simply hand back their repeat slip as soon as they collected their medications but this caused a lot of wastage (prescriptions/doses/items might change but patients ordered automatically and too soon without necessarily needing everything), additional workload as many patients would come to collect and then decide they didn't need some items after all, and also additional space was required to store made up orders so far in advance of being needed. Telephone calls to the dispensary increased dramatically as patients rang all day to ask if their medication had been issued yet and when it would be ready to collect as they had no idea of the date it was due to be dispensed.
We have run our new system for 3 months now and already recognise a significantly improved flow to the dispensing system with a consequence of less items being rejected, less waste and vastly improved efficiency within the dispensing system. The dispensers now have the correct amount of time to concentrate on the daily dispensing without trying to play "catch up" all the time with future issues.
We hope you understand the rationale, which is of course same for community pharmacies who likewise, do not accept early repeat requests for the same reasons.
