What are acute (one-off) prescriptions?

These are for new or short-term conditions. If you were advised to continue taking that medication, to request new prescription contact your pharmacy or complete an online triage form. Your GP will review the request and decide if a prescription is appropriate.

What are repeat prescriptions?

Ongoing medications you take regularly. You can request these through the NHS app, or through your pharmacy. Be sure to order well in advance to avoid running out of medication, allow 3 working days.

What is repeat dispensing?

It allows your GP to provide a batch of prescriptions for a set period (e.g., 1, 2, or 3 months), which you can collect from your pharmacy without needing to request a new prescription each time. Once a repeat dispensing prescription is set up, you simply visit your pharmacy to collect your medication on the agreed schedule.

Will the practice accept prescriptions from private doctors?

Requests for new medications recommended by a private doctor or specialist will not automatically be accepted for NHS prescribing. Our GPs may consider transferring a private prescription to an NHS prescription where it is clinically appropriate and where the medication is routinely prescribed within NHS primary care, approved for NHS prescribing, and the GP is satisfied there is a clear clinical need.

Does the practice provide shared care for private ADHD services?

We are unable to enter into shared care agreements with non-NHS providers or providers outside the ADHD Right to Choose (RTC) framework. If you require an ADHD assessment or ongoing treatment, you may choose to be referred to an NHS ADHD service, an approved Right to Choose provider, or arrange private care independently.

Does the practice provide shared care for private gender clinics?

We are unable to enter into shared care agreements with private gender clinics or undertake blood test monitoring requested by non-NHS gender services. We can only consider shared care arrangements where care is provided through an NHS gender clinic.

Can I get oral contraception from the practice?

Patients can now access oral contraception directly through the NHS Pharmacy Contraception Service without needing a GP appointment. The practice is no longer routinely issuing repeat prescriptions for oral contraceptive pills unless there is a specific clinical reason to do so.

Private prescriptions

General Principles

Private and NHS care for the same condition should be kept separate.
We have a responsibility to make rational decisions when deciding how resources will be allocated.
We must act fairly between patients.Patients may opt into or out of NHS care at any stage.
Patients should be neither advantaged nor disadvantaged for seeking private health care.
Patients who have had a private consultation for investigations and diagnosis may transfer to the NHS for any subsequent treatment but must be treated according to NHS protocols.
All doctors have a duty to share information with others providing care and treatment for their patients.

Private investigation request

Wellington Way health centre follows the following NHS England guidance regarding requests for blood tests to be done by a private provider:

If a patient has chosen to pay for private healthcare, they are responsible for paying for all costs, including tests, and the private provider is responsible for managing every aspect of their healthcare (unless the patient chooses to transfer back to the NHS at a later date to continue treatment).

For that reason, private providers should not be asking GPs to arrange any tests that they deem necessary, and intend to use, to make a diagnosis and recommend a course of treatment with.

It is the private provider’s responsibility to arrange tests for patients whose care they are managing, and the patient’s responsibility to pay for them.

Private prescription

A request to prescribe a new medication will not be automatically be accepted.

If a private doctor or specialist recommends a particular medication this will need to be prescribed by them on a private prescription. Patients should obtain this prescription at a community pharmacy.

Our GP’s can consider transferring private prescription to an NHS prescription, if it is appropriate to do so, and providing that the following criteria is met:

The medication is prescribable on the NHS and routinely prescribed by GP practices
The use of the medication is compatible with national clinical or prescribing guidelines.
There is a clinical need and appropriateness of the suggested medication.

In some cases the GP may not feel happy to issue the medication , in this case the patient must obtain a private prescription to take to the pharmacy

The practice reserves the right to reject any request from a private Specialist to prescribe medications on an ongoing basis. Patients who are issued a medication by a private specialist will need to pay the private prescription fee for that item.

Hospital Outpatient Prescriptions

If a prescription is issued whilst attending a hospital appointment, patient should not leave the hospital without attending the hospital pharmacy to collect the medication. Some hospital prescriptions can be issued at community pharmacies and some are only issued by the hospitals dedicated pharmacyIf the medication is needed urgently or immediately the patient should return to the hospital pharmacy.