Medication Requests following Hospital Appointments
Please see the attached document for NHS England procedures following hospital discharge or a hospital appointment:
If medication is required following your outpatient appointment with the consultant, please note the following information:
It is the responsibility of the hospital (and in line with their policy) to give 1 months supply of the medication where the patient:
Should commence immediately
- Requires a new medicine or a change of dose of existing medication within 2 weeks of the hospital appointment.
Any medication which falls within the above categories MUST be collected from the hospital pharmacy. This is to ensure the patient receives their treatment on time and to allow time for the consultant(s) to send a typed report to the practice detailing the outcome of the hospital consultation.
If the consultant requires you to continue the medication after the initial supply has run out he will inform the practice via this report.
To request further supply of the medication you must submit a written request to the surgery stating the name, strength and dose of the medication; plus details of the consultant/hospital clinic who issued the initial prescription.
The practice will supply further prescriptions as long as we have received the appropriate typed report from the hospital consultant.
You must allow 2 working days for your prescription request to be processed.
Medication required on discharge from hospital
If medication is required on discharge from hospital, please note the following information:
It is the responsibility of the hospital and they have agreed to:
Issue a minimum of 14 days medication
- Issue the complete course, if a course of medication is required eg. Antibiotics or steroid reducing medication
- Prescribe enough drops to cover treatment following ophthalmic procedures
Some medication can only be supplied by the hospital
Medicines that are not available outside the hospital eg clinical trial, hospital only or unlicensed drugs:
- Medicines for which safe and effective prescribing depends on knowledge or experience unlikely to be possessed by the GP eg chemotherapy or TB treatment
- Medicines for which it has been agreed that the hospital clinician is responsible eg. some drugs for rheumatoid arthritis or psychiatric problems
If your medication falls into one of these categories then you will be asked to contact the hospital for a further supply.
Warrington CCG - Guidance on Prescribing following a Private Consultation
Prescription requests should comply with Pan Mersey Area Prescribing Committee (APC) guidance (Pan Mersey)GP's will not issue prescriptions outside of this guidance.
Prescription requests resulting from outpatient appointments will be processed within 48 working hours of receipt of request from clinician.
Urgent prescriptions are the responsibility of the prescribing clinician.
If you are transferred to another department within the hospital
If your consultant decides to refer you to another department within the hospital and you do not hear anything further regarding this, please direct your queries to the consultant’s secretary at the hospital.The practice secretary will not be able to answer any queries relating to such matters.
PRIVATE PRESCRIPTIONS
If a private consultation identifies a long-term condition or a need for medication which is available as routine NHS treatment, this should be provided as such by the patient's usual primary care prescriber if they are satisfied it is appropriate, and the private provider issues the first prescription.
The GP should be asked to take over prescribing only when the patient is stabilised on the medication. Patients who present at reception with a private prescription will be directed back to the private consultant's pharmacy or to their own nominated pharmacy, where they will have to pay the private prescription charge.
This applies whether the referral was by an NHS clinician or the patient self-referred. The responsibility for prescribing rests with the prescriber who has clinical responsibility for a particular aspect of the patients' care. There is no obligation on behalf of the primary care prescriber to prescribe the recommended treatment if it is contrary to his/her normal clinical practice. If the private/consultant prescribing recommendation does not follow Pan Mersey Area Prescribing Committee (APC), local or national guidance or policy, then the primary care prescriber may substitute a medicine with a clinically appropriate alternative
Private prescription requests for medicines resulting from outpatient appointments will only be considered after receipt of a full clinic letter and will take a further 2 working days to process.
Urgent prescriptions are the responsibility of the prescribing clinician.
When a patient is seen privately by a specialist or GP for a single episode of care any short-term medication required (a course of treatment or up to 28 days acute treatment) should be paid for by the patient as part of that package of care.