Prescription Ordering

Electronic Prescribing Service (EPS)

EPS is an NHS-funded service in England that allows a prescription to be sent electronically from your GP surgery to your Pharmacy of choice without the need for a paper copy.

You can choose which Pharmacy you would like the GP Surgery to send your electronic prescription to. The pharmacy you choose will be your 'Nominated Pharmacy'. You can nominate your chosen pharmacy by informing a member of staff at the GP Surgery or the Pharmacy. You can change or cancel your nomination at any point.

Once you have nominated your pharmacy your prescriptions will be sent electronically to that pharmacy and you will not need to visit the surgery to collect your prescription.

 Prescription requests will still take 48Hours to process.

EPS is right for you if you have stable condition and you:

• do not want to visit the GP practice every time to collect your prescription
• collect your medicines from the same places most of the time
• already use a prescription collection service.

 EPS is reliable, secure and confidential. Your electronic prescription will only be seen by the same people that see your paper prescriptions now.

 Electronic Prescriptions are auditable and can be traced.

If you have any further queries please contact the surgery or for more details about EPS visit www.cfh.nhs.uk/eps

Prescribing of over the counter medicines is changing. 

Your GP, nurse or pharmacist will not generally give you a prescription for over the counter (OTC) medicines for a range of minor health conditions.

Instead, over the counter medicines are available to buy in a pharmacy or supermarket in your local community. 

The team of health professionals at your local pharmacy can offer help and clinical advice to manage minor health concerns and if your symptoms suggest it’s more serious, they’ll ensure you get the care you need.

Find out more about this change to prescription policy at nhs.uk/OTCmedicines

This applies to treatments for these conditions:

• Acute sore throat
• Conjunctivitis
• Coughs, colds and nasal congestion
• Cradle cap
• Dandruff
• Diarrhoea (adults)
• Dry eyes/ sore tired eyes
• Earwax
• Excessive sweating
• Haemorrhoids
• Head lice
• Indigestion and heartburn
• Infant colic
• Infrequent cold sores of the lip
• Infrequent constipation
• Infrequent migraine
• Insect bites and stings
• Mild acne
• Minor burns and scalds
• Mild cystitis
• Mild dry skin
• Mild irritant dermatitis
• Mild to moderate hay fever
• Minor pain, discomfort and fever (e.g. aches and sprains, headache, period pain, back pain)
• Mouth ulcers
• Nappy rash
• Oral thrush
• Prevention of tooth decay
• Ringworm/ athletes foot
• Sunburn
• Sun protection
• Teething/ mild toothache
• Threadworms
• Travel sickness
• Warts and verrucae

This policy outlines the procedure for patients travelling abroad for short and long periods of time.

NHS Policy

By law, the NHS ceases to have responsibility for the medical care of patients when they leave the UK.  In addition, GPs are not required by their terms of service to provide prescriptions for the treatment of a condition that is not present and may arise while the patient is abroad.

The NHS does accept responsibility for supplying ongoing medication for temporary periods abroad of up to 3 months. However, if a person is going to be abroad for more than 3 months, then they are only entitled (at NHS expense) to a sufficient supply of regular medication until they get to their destination, where they should then find an alternative supply of that medication.

Patients residing abroad for a period of more than 3 months should be removed from the registered patient list.

Surgery Policy

Travelling out of the country for less than 3 months

For patients who inform us they will be out of the country for less than 3 months, we will provide sufficient medicines for an existing condition (e.g., asthma, diabetes…) for the period while the patient is away where it is safe to do so.  Drugs that require frequent monitoring may not be prescribed where there are safety concerns.  

Travelling out of the country for more than 3 months

Patients who inform us they will be leaving the country for more than 3 months will be prescribed sufficient medication to enable them to make alternative arrangements at their destination (up to 3 months’ supply where safe to do so).

They will also be removed from our patient list. We will be pleased to re-register patients on their return to residence in the UK and can reassure patients that their electronic notes are kept on file for reference on their return.

Patients and relatives should not seek medication for themselves while they are abroad as this constitutes NHS fraud.

Prescriptions for medicines in case of illness while abroad

GPs will only prescribe NHS prescriptions in this case for exacerbations of pre-existing illnesses, E.g. antibiotics for patients who have frequent infections secondary to an underlying lung condition.

GPs may provide private prescriptions if it is clinically appropriate, and they can be self-administered safely without medical assessment while abroad. These prescriptions are not free.

Patients should be aware that some drugs commonly prescribed in the UK may be illegal in certain countries and you should check with that countries embassy before you travel.