End to ordering repeat medicines from chemist
Patients will no longer be able to order repeat prescriptions directly from their pharmacist in a new trial in west Kent to stop wasting medicine.
From Monday, people registered at Aylesford Medical Centre, in Admiral Moore Drive and St Andrews Medical Centre in Southborough will have to order directly from their GP surgery.
The other alternative is to ring a new prescription ordering direct service (POD), a call centre staffed by trained prescribing clerks and clinical members of the Medicines Optimisation Team.
Over the coming months, West Kent Clinical Commissioning Group (WKCCG), which plans and buys health care, plans to extend the scheme to Maidstone, Tonbridge and Sevenoaks and surrounding areas.
According to the group, unused medication costs the NHS in west Kent £2.4m a year and once fully implemented the measures could save £600,000 each year.
The changes are also aimed at easing demand on GPs and pharmacies and improving clinical safety. Bob Bowes, WKCCG chairman said: “This will help us to cut unnecessary costs and reduce the amount of medicines prescribed that end up in the bin.
“Many patients order repeat prescriptions directly through their GP and they will not need to do anything different, but surgeries cannot take any repeat prescription order over the phone. The changes affect those relying on their pharmacist to reorder medicines for them.”
The POD system is inspired by similar measures implemented by the NHS Coventry and Rugby.
It will be available from 8am to 4pm Monday to Friday. Each time a patient will have their medicines and stocks reviewed. The medicines will be collected from or delivered by the pharmacy the person nominates each time. The measures come as WKCCG tries to plug a £4m black hole in its finances by cutting back on non-urgent surgical procedures like cataract surgery and knee replacements, banning sterilisations and restricting food supplements and some forms of treatment thought to be of limited clinical value.