Reply from Thrapston Pharmacy
Tue, 20 Dec 2016 11:40:45 Z

As a family owned pharmacy, we understand how important it is to offer the best possible service to all of our patients, and we welcome feedback which allows us to improve the service we offer. As you are aware, doctors in Thrapston have recently begun to implement the use of the National Electronic Prescription Service (EPS); which enables prescriptions to be sent electronically from the GP practice to the pharmacy. However, this does mean that more of the operational processes involved with the issuing of repeat prescriptions has moved from the Surgery administration department to the Pharmacy team, who have to download and print prescriptions (and repeat slips) in the Pharmacy. NHS advice has always been to allow 72 hours between ordering repeat prescriptions and collection from the pharmacy (48hours for the surgery to issue, and 24 hours to ensure the pharmacy has sufficient stock to assemble and clinically check the dispensed medication). For this reason, and in order to ensure that we are able to provide an effective dispensing process which allows time to incorporate the necessary safety checks; we, in common with the majority of community Pharmacies, respectfully request that for non-urgent repeat prescriptions, patients still do allow three working days between ordering and collecting prescriptions. Prescriptions that are sent by the doctor as a result of a patient appointment visit (such as antibiotics for example) are normally ready for collection from the Pharmacy within an hour at most, and obviously, if a repeat prescription is particularly urgent, we would always endeavour to 'fast- track' it through the system. If you were to visit the pharmacy and discuss your experiences with the Pharmacy Manager, I am confident your concerns would be addressed Superintendent Pharmacist