There is an awful lot of organisation, planning and sorting that goes into making many festive holidays special, with presents to buy, dinners to organise and people to visit through the season.
However, whilst all of this is undoubtedly true, something that should always be the first priority is prescriptions, especially any repeat prescriptions that are set to expire around Christmas.
Every year, there is a warning from the NHS to make sure that people get their prescriptions dispensed as soon as possible, with the electronic prescription service helping to make this easier than ever before for the diligent.
This warning is typically given before every bank holiday, but since the Christmas period often covers so many bank holidays at the same time and NHS services tend to be much busier during the times that pharmacies would be open in the run-up to Christmas and between Boxing Day and New Year’s Day.
What Is A Repeat Prescription?
When a GP or dispensing doctor provides a prescription, typically it will take one of two forms. Either it will be a single course of treatment typically dispensed the same day by going to a pharmacy, or it will be a repeat prescription that can be provided by a pharmacy without visiting a GP every single time.
This can either be a repeat prescription service ordered through a GP surgery or a repeat dispensing.
For people with long-term conditions such as chronic pain, asthma, rheumatoid arthritis, HIV, diabetes or cancer, a repeat prescription is typically provided to patients at a pharmacy of their choice (usually the easiest one for them to access) for up to 12 months or an early monitoring period agreed to by a GP.
This means that for stable conditions, a patient does not always need to visit their doctor when nothing has changed, giving them more flexibility to pick up the medication they need at a time that suits them best.
Typically, a single pharmacy will be nominated as the one where the repeat prescriptions are issued and dispensed, but that can be changed by a patient if required.
Typically, a pharmacy will provide no more than a 28 days’ supply of any prescription medication, outside of certain exceptions where a 56-day course is deemed to be more clinically appropriate or the medicine in question is in a special pack with more than 28 days of doses, such as an inhaler.
Because repeat prescriptions are organised in 28-day cycles, this can lead to situations where the day in which the final date for getting the next prescription ordered can fall on bank holidays or around Christmas.
When Should You Order Your Repeat Prescriptions By?
With Christmas being a naturally very busy period with people getting prescriptions and the colder weather leading to other people feeling ill, pharmacies can sometimes be busier than normal in the run-up to the holidays. As such, the earlier repeat prescriptions are ordered, the better.
Generally, the advice is to have it ordered a week before Christmas so it can be prepared, readied to be collected or even delivered to a patient before Christmas.
It also helps ensure that a patient is ready for any eventuality where a pharmacy is either closed or inaccessible, such as snowstorms, heavy rain, flooding, or a power cut. It also helps simply to provide peace of mind.
Most pharmacies are closed entirely on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day, all three of which are bank holidays, whilst most of the days between Christmas and the New Year could have more limited opening hours.
If there is a sudden shortage of medication during this time and no pharmacy is open that can help deliver an emergency prescription, there is a dedicated emergency prescription service offered by NHS 111, the non-emergency helpline.
This will involve filling out a form, providing a location and when the next dose is due to provide the best way to get it. The NHS 111 service can also help discuss alternative options if that is not viable, either online or via the 111 helpline.
This helps to keep 999, the emergency services, accident and emergency wings of hospitals and doctors free to take care of people who are at risk of losing life or limb during what can often be a particularly busy period for healthcare.
People are on repeat prescriptions for a reason, and there are quite serious consequences that can emerge when people do not take the medication they need, which is why it is best to take care of repeat prescriptions as soon as possible.
Even if the 16th is the best time to do so, the next best time is as soon as possible.