It is easier and quicker to request repeat prescriptions via our online service. Simply log in and select an option.
Please allow 48 hours ( 2 full working days) before your Prescription is ready.
Your Repeat Medication
If you need regular medication and your doctor does not need to see you every time, you will be issued with ‘repeat prescription’. When you collect a prescription you will see that it is perforated down the centre. The left-hand side is the actual prescription. The right-hand side (re-order slip) shows a list of medicines that you can request without booking an appointment to see a doctor. Please tear off this section (and keep it) before handing the prescription to the chemist for dispensing.
Run out or just about to run out medication requests
Unfortunately a small minority of patients are repeatedly running out (or just about to run out) of their medication. ‘Urgent’ requests of this nature cause a great deal of disruption to the smooth running of the practice. Please be aware that such requests will be questioned very carefully by the reception staff and may well be refused by the GP. A record is kept of such requests.
If you forget to request a Repeat Prescription
If you forget to obtain a prescription for repeat medication and run out of important medicines, you may be able to get help from your pharmacy. Under the Urgent Provision of Repeat Medication Service, pharmacists may be able to supply you with a further cycle of a previously repeated medicine without having to get a prescription from your GP. If you receive stoma products from your pharmacy or other suppler and/or receive suppose such as continence products and welfare food from community services, you should ensure you have sufficient supplies as you may encounter difficulties in obtaining theses over public holidays, or when we are closed.
How to order your medication
By post
You can post your prescription slip or written request to us at the Practice. You can include a stamped addressed envelope for return by post if you will not be able to pick up your prescription from the surgery. (Please allow extra time for any possible delays with the postal service).
In person
You can do this by returning the right-hand half of a previous prescription for the required medications, or by submitting a handwritten request. There is a letterbox by the door of the surgery you can post orders in there 24/7
Pharmacy Ordering/Collection Service
Pharmacies offer a prescription collection service from our Practice.They can also order your medication on your behalf. This saves you time and unnecessary visits to the Practice. Please contact the pharmacy of your choice for more information if you wish to use this service.
Send your request via email to [email protected] Please ensure your request states your name, date of birth and address along with the medication name/s dosage and amount requested.
Additional information
Sedatives for procedures being carried out elsewhere
We are unable to provide prescriptions for sedatives, like diazepam, for dental and medical procedures and scans taking place in other healthcare settings.
Benzodiazpams, like diazepam, work by making you feel more relaxed and sleepier which can feel like a good thing when facing an anxiety cause procedure. However, they do come with associated risks, especially if the person performing the procedure does not know what you have taken. In some cases, they can actually have the opposite effect causing increased agitation. They can also impair your judgement and lead to drowsiness and light headedness and increase your risk of accidents. Longer term they can lead to issues with dependence (addiction) and tolerance.
When procedures are taking place in other settings it is important for the team performing these to know if you are taking sedative medication and to be able to monitor their effects. It is generally therefore best that the person who is undertaking the procedure is the one prescribing the medication. Dentists are prescribers and can prescribe sedatives if they decide it is necessary. Likewise for scans and procedures organised by the hospital if you think you may need a sedative you should speak to the requesting or performing team who can decide if this is appropriate or not.
Diazepam and flying
Millhill practice has taken the decision to no longer prescribe benzodiazepines, like diazepam, for fear of flying. We understand this may be difficult, particularly for those who have in the past received prescriptions from us, but we have set out some of the reasons behind this decision below.
1. Benzodiazepines are sedative drugs; part of the way they work is by making you feel sleepier and more relaxed. Whilst flying there are concerns this could affect behaviour and response times in an emergency, potentially putting yourself, fellow passengers, and crew members at increased risk if they needed to help you instead of dealing with the situation.
2. Benzodiazepines may increase your risk of deep vein thrombosis, blood clots in the legs and lungs. They affect sleep quality, leading to more non-REM sleep, meaning your body moves less than during natural sleep. This risk is more likely on flights longer than four hours. Clots like this can make people extremely ill and can at times be fatal.
3. Although for most people benzodiazepines cause sedation, they can occasionally cause people to become more agitated and behave in unusual ways. This may lead to problems whilst in airports and on flights.
4. Respiratory changes. Oxygen levels even for normal healthy people reduce when up in the air. Benzodiazepines can affect your breathing causing you to breathe less well which might be particularly problematic if you have underlying heart or breathing difficulties already.
5. These effects can all be enhanced when taking alcohol which is common on flights and could add to the concerns already discussed above.
6. Benzodiazepines are not licensed medications for phobias. This means that GPs could be liable for any adverse effects taken when these are prescribed for this reason. They are not recommended for mild and self-limiting anxiety. They can be
used for moderate to severe general anxiety, along with other measures, but in these cases, patients would be unwell and would not be going on flights. Fear of flying is not a generalised anxiety disorder.
7. Benzodiazepines are illegal in some countries and so you could find yourselves in trouble with the authorities in these places.
8. Driving. Benzodiazepines s can take a variable amount of time to get out of your system. Sedative effects can potentially impair driving and increase risk of accidents particularly in people who are new to taking the medication. It may be hard to know when you are safe to drive again particularly as above if combined with alcohol. Different countries have different laws regarding driving with drugs, but you can be tested for this at the roadside.
We appreciate that fear of flying is a genuine and distressing condition which can cause considerable distress. Many airlines offer fit to fly courses which can help with managing this and we would encourage you to look at some of the links below Fear of flying course | Fearless Flyer (easyjet.com) Primary course | British Airways™ Fear of flying courses | Flying With Confidence Flying without fear
Additional Requests of Repeat Medication
A Scottish home and Health Department circular from 1971 clarifies the position on prescribing for patients going abroad for extended periods. It states:-
“If a patient intends to go away for a longer period(than two to three week’s holiday) he/she may not be regarded as a resident of this country and would not be entitled to the benefits of the National Health Service…. It may not be in the patient’s best interest for him/her to continue to self-medication over such longer periods…. If a patient is going abroad for a long period, he/she should be prescribed sufficient drugs to meet his/her requirements only until such time as he can place himself/herself in the care of a doctor at his/her destination.”
Where ongoing medical attention is not necessary, the patient may be given a private prescription.
Generic Prescribing
Next time you visit us you may be prescribed medicine that looks different from your last ones. This may mean that the doctor has prescribed a generic medicine for you. One example of a generic medicine is paracetamol, which is commonly known by the brand name Panadol. Generic medicines are just as safe and effective as branded products, and by prescribing generics, doctors can save the NHS millions of pounds, thus allowing money to be spent on you in other ways. If you are worried about any change to your medication check with the pharmacist or doctor.
Hospital and Community Requests
When you are discharged from Hospital you should normally receive seven days supply of medication.
On receipt of your discharge medication, which will be issued to you by the Hospital, please contact the Surgery to provide them with this information before your supply of medication has run out.
Hospital requests for change of medication will be checked by a prescribing clinician first, and if necessary a prescribing clinician will provide you with a prescription on request.
Medication reviews
The doctors at the Practice regularly review the medication you are taking. This may involve changes to your tablets, in accordance with current Health Board policies. Please be reassured that this will not affect your treatment. We may sometimes call you in for a medication review and this may involve blood tests. It is very important that you attend these appointments, as it keeps you safe whilst taking medication.
Non-Repeat Items (Acute Requests)
Non Repeat Prescriptions known as “Acute” prescriptions/ special requests. are medicines that have been issued by the Doctor but not added to your repeat prescription records. This is normally a new medication issued for a trial period and may require a review visit with your Doctor prior to being added onto your repeat prescription records.
Some medications are recorded as acute as they require to be closely monitored by the Doctor. Examples include many anti-depressants, drugs of potential abuse or where the prescribing is subject to legal or clinical restrictions or special criteria. If this is the case with your medicine, you may not always be issued with a repeat prescription until you have consulted with your Doctor again.
