ON-LINE REPEAT PRESCRIPTION REQUESTS

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If you have not signed up for Appointments & Prescriptions Online, please continue to read below on how you can sign up for this service.

Medicines for Self Care

Somerset Clinical Commissioning Group supports any GP practice that decides to reduce their prescribing of medicines which have limited clinical value or are more suitable for patients to buy for themselves.

These medicines include:

• Pain killers for minor aches and pains
• Soluble pain killers (because of high salt content)
• Hay fever preparations
• Cough and cold remedies
• Nasal decongestants (and Sterimar)
• Tonic, vitamin, and health supplements
• Antiperspirants
• Homeopathic remedies
• Treatments for non-serious constipation or diarrhoea
• Ear wax removers (a few drops of olive oil is just as good as anything on prescription)
• Treatments for minor facial spots
• Threadworm tablets
• Lozenges, throat sprays, mouthwashes, gargles and toothpastes
• Slimming preparations (except within national guidelines)
• Creams, gels, oils and dressings for minor sprains, sports injuries and scars
• Indigestion remedies for occasional use
• Creams for bruising, tattoos, varicose veins and scars
• Nappy rash / barrier creams
• Hair removing creams
• Head lice lotions and shampoos (wet combing is recommended)
• Athletes’ foot creams and powders
• Topical treatments for vaginal thrush
• Treatments for fungal nail infections
• Moisturisers and bath additives for minor dry skin conditions
• Travel medicines
• Foods and toilet preparations except where clinically indicated e.g. gluten-free cakes, cake mixes & luxury biscuits; sip feeds; ready-made thickened juices; soya milks and sun creams.

Why? This decision has been taken because:

• Many of these products are cheap to buy and are readily available along with advice from pharmacies, as well as shops and supermarkets (which are often open until late)
• Some of them do not actually work very well, e.g. cough syrups
• In Somerset we spent almost £5 million last year on these medicines. This money could be better spent on treating more serious conditions such as cancer and heart disease.

In some circumstances your doctor can still prescribe these medicines on the NHS if they believe a true clinical need exists.

For more information from the National Health Service on conditions, treatments, local services and healthy living please visit the NHS Choices website: www.nhs.uk

Repeat Prescription Online Service

Appointments Online also offers an Repeat Prescription Service for ordering your repeat medication. You can simply tick which items you require and the order will be submitted to a prescription clerk for processing at the surgery immediately. The prescription will be ready for collection 3 working days from the date of request. This service is available 24 hours a day. For more information please click the following link: Online Services

Please Note:
Without positive identification we cannot fully process your application and we will not be able to provide you with login details.

Other Online Services

We also offer other online services to better assist you with contacting us with your information:

- Appointments Online Service
- Appointment Cancellation
- Change of Address
- Repeat Sick Note Request

Online Services – Statement of Intent