Urgent Prescriptions
Urgent Prescriptions / Urgent Medications
Please note: Urgent prescription requests will NOT be actioned after 5pm on working days (Monday – Friday).
We have seen a significant rise in urgent medication requests. This places pressure on both clinical and administrative teams. To ensure urgent needs are prioritised safely and efficiently, we have updated our urgent prescription process. All urgent medication requests are reviewed by our Clinical Team. If approved, the prescription may be processed by the next working day, depending on clinical urgency.
Key Information
- Controlled drugs: If a controlled drug has been lost, this must be reported to the police before a replacement can be issued. A crime reference number must be provided.
- Hospital Prescriptions: Medication recommended by a hospital clinician must go through the normal prescription process. These requests are not classed as urgent
- Urgent Prescriptions will only be considered for: Controlled Drugs or Acute medications not yet on your repeat prescription
- All other medication requests are not urgent. For these, please use the NHS Emergency Prescription Service (Link opens in a new browser tab)
Emergency Medication – NHS 111
If you have completely run out of a regular medication, you may be able to obtain a limited emergency supply via NHS 111.
Visit: 111 Online Emergency Prescription Service: (Link opens in a new browser tab). Use this service only for medicines you take regularly through a repeat prescription.
Collection of Urgent Medications
- Approved urgent prescriptions will be sent to the patient’s nominated pharmacy.
- We strongly encourage patients to register for the Electronic Prescription Service (EPS) to speed up the process.
Avoiding Urgent Requests
To help reduce delays and ensure safe prescribing, we recommend:
- Signing up for electronic access to request medications promptly.
- Making use of Repeat Dispensing / eRD where appropriate.
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Ordering prescriptions at least 5 working days before you run out.