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Patient Newsletter: Issue 2
Important Notice: We Will No Longer Accept Prescription Requests by Telephone from 1 June
From 1 June 2025, our practice will no longer accept prescription requests over the telephone.
Why are we making this change?
The primary reason is patient safety. We are seeing an increasing number of discrepancies between what patients believe they have ordered and what is actually requested over the phone. These errors are often due to confusion around medication names and can lead to serious mistakes.
Telephone ordering was introduced as a temporary measure during the COVID-19 pandemic to reduce face-to-face contact and support social distancing. However, the demand on general practice continues to grow. More patients are on repeat medication for increasingly complex health needs, and telephone requests are no longer a safe or sustainable option.
By ending this service, we aim to reduce the risk of medication errors and free up our phone lines for patients with clinical queries or urgent needs.
How to Order Your Repeat Prescription
Please Plan Ahead
This change will not affect the current prescription processing time, which remains 3 working days (excluding weekends and bank holidays). Your pharmacy will also need additional time to dispense your medication (this can take up to 72 hours depending on their workload). We strongly advise you to order your repeat medication in good time to avoid running out.
Exceptional Circumstances
Telephone ordering will be considered only on a case by case basis, eg, for a terminally ill or physically incapacitated patient or those needing urgent medication.
Please be aware that our telephone options will be updated to reflect this change and the option to request prescriptions by phone will be removed from 1st June 2025. We understand this change may be difficult for some patients, but we hope you understand that patient safety must always come first. Thank you for your support and understanding.
What is Electronic Repeat Dispensing?
Generous Donations Fund New Doppler Machines
Thank you to both Tescos, and a very generous and anonymous patient for the provision of two Doppler machines recently. The first was funded with a £500 donation from Tesco’s, through their Stronger Start Fund. Sharron Toms from Tesco is pictured handing over the cheque to Practice Manager Aija Selby and Dr Bhari. Pictured right are David Porteious, Paul Underwood and Pam Jones from the Patient Participation Group with clinicians receiving the second doppler and probe. This was thanks to the kind generosity of M.E.E, who had approached the PPG to see what was on the practice’s ‘wish list’. Their donation also funded a number of blue pen torches for eye examinations. Thank you so much to Tescos and M.E.E. for your wonderful donations.
PPG Meeting
The next Patient Participation Group meeting will take place on Monday 7th July from 6.30pm. The meeting is held in the main reception with access from the car park entrance. The guest speaker will be from Arthritis UK and all patients are welcome.
Published: May 6, 2025