Closure of prescription ordering by telephone as of 27th March 2023
After reinstating the of accepting repeat prescription requests over the telephone during the COVID lockdowns and following discussions within the practice and research within the local area, we have taken the decision to stop taking prescription requests over the telephone from 27th March 2023.
The first and most important reason is safety. We are getting increasing numbers of discrepancies between what the patient says they have ordered and what has been requested by the reception team. Mistakes are likely due to confusion with drug name.
The Practice is getting busier and busier with more people on repeat medication for ever increasing complex conditions. The decision was made to stop the taking of prescriptions over the telephone to minimise the risk of a potential error causing a significant event.
We hope in making this change it will free up our phone lines for patients contacting us for other queries.
So as from 27th March 2023, the practice will not be taking prescription requests over the telephone – you can request your repeat medication by the following methods:
- Order online – to set up an online account, please bring a form of photo ID to the surgery, or set up online with the NHSApp, or using our online consultation service https://florey.accurx.com/p/L83070
- Using your repeat slip (right hand side of green prescription) – ticking the items you need to order and handing this slip into the practice or posting it to the practice
- Popping into the practice and filling in a repeat prescription slip
We understand that this might not be popular with some patients, but we hope that you will understand that safety is of paramount importance.
Please note that this will not alter the time it takes to process a repeat prescription which is 2 working days.
Thank you for your understanding
Buckfastleigh Medical Centre
