Did you know that if you (or someone you care for) take the same medicines regularly and are stable on them, you may not need to request a new prescription from your surgery every time you require more medicines?

The NHS has now introduced a Repeat “BATCH” Dispensing Service, which means that if you are eligible, you don’t need to visit your surgery or make an appointment with your doctor or practice nurse every time you need more medicines and then make an extra journey to the pharmacy. In short, what this means is that you do not need to order your repeat prescription from your GP’s surgery anymore because your GP’s surgery can issue 6 to 12 months worth of prescriptions and Wootton Pharmacy can store these prescriptions for you (in a secure, lockable filing cabinet) at the pharmacy. All you need to do when you need your next repeat prescription is to contact Wootton Pharmacy direct and we will prepare your prescription, ready for you to collect or we can deliver. It’s as easy as that!

How it works
1. Talk to ARIF or RAJ to find out if you are eligible for this service (not all GP surgeries are  
    running this service at the moment)
2. With your consent we will discuss your application with your GP
3. We will update you on whether your application has been successful
4. Once successful, we will collect and store your “BATCH” prescription
5. All you need to do to order your prescription from us is to telephone (or call into)
Wootton Pharmacy: 01234-765166. Tell us your NAME & say that you have a prescription IN THE FILING CABINET. Your prescription will be ready for you at the pharmacy the next day from 3.30pm, or alternatively we would be happy to deliver it to you. It’s that simple.

Advantages of  “BATCH” prescriptions
We have been providing this service at Wootton Pharmacy for a number of years now. Our patients who have “BATCH” prescriptions with us have found a number of advantages with this service. They include:

i) Increased patient satisfaction – It’s free and easy to use. Normally, once a repeat prescription slip or email has been sent to your doctor’s surgery, it can take the surgery up to 48 hours (2 working days) to generate the prescription. There is then the delay of collecting the prescription from the surgery and taking it to the pharmacy for dispensing. Since we already have your “BATCH” prescription at Wootton Pharmacy, we can dispense your prescription the very next day after 3.30pm for collection or we can deliver. We have found that patients on our “BATCH” prescription service are much more relaxed and organized with regards to ordering their prescriptions from us.  No postal delays, no “sorry your prescription was not ready at the surgery for us to collect today”. Your “BATCH” prescription is safe with us and ready to be processed when you need it.

ii) A better way of ordering – No more having to tick the repeat slip and then handing it 
into, or posting it, to your doctor’s surgery and then having to collect your prescription from the surgery. Save stamps, petrol and your precious time.

iii) Flexible supply – We can dispense 1 or 2 months supply each time from the “BATCH” prescription. If you are going away on holiday or its coming up to Christmas (a busy time for everyone), we can give you enough medication from the “BATCH” to ensure that you are covered for these periods. You, in turn, can afford to relax and enjoy your hard earned holiday or the seasonal festivities.

iv) Collection or delivery – As we already have your “BATCH” prescription, once you have placed your order with us we will have your prescription ready the following afternoon for you to collect from us or we can deliver. It’s your choice.

v) We can “Line up” your tablets – With “BATCH” prescriptions, one of the advantages is that we are able to “line up” your medicines so that they all run out at the same time. Many patients on regular repeat prescriptions tend to be on a number of tablets which run out at different times, or are out of synch. At Wootton Pharmacy we can “line up” your medication so that you only need to order all of your medication once. This saves you time since you do not need to order different items at different times.  Let us make your life easier.

vi) Fewer owings – As we already have your “BATCH” prescription, we know what medication you are regularly taking. This means that we will keep these items in stock for you for your next order. Simple and convenient.

For more information about repeat dispensing please read: patient information leaflet

Reminder to our patients already on “BATCH” prescriptions

End of “BATCH” review
Depending on which doctor’s surgery you are registered with, once your “BATCH” prescription comes to an end, you may need to make an End of BATCH review appointment with your surgery. We will inform you when you have come to the end of your “BATCH” prescription and whether you need to get in touch with your doctor. In some cases you may not need a review, or your doctor will contact you for a review. At Wootton Pharmacy we work closely with all local GPs and so, once you have had your review, we can organise the printing and collection of your next “BATCH” prescription.