Practice Policies

Medication out of stock procedure

As a result of large amounts of out of stocks that are affecting our national medicines supply chain, we have developed the below procedure for all parties to work together to ensure our patients received their prescribed medications.

Guidance designed for: practice staff, patients and our local pharmacies.

Item out of stock at patients’ usual pharmacy

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Pharmacy to return prescription token to patient so that patient can take prescription to a different pharmacy.

Note for patients: Different pharmacies use different suppliers so whilst one does not have your medication available it is possible for another pharmacy to source it for you.

Note for pharmacy: If there are other items on the prescription, please offer the patient to take the whole prescription elsewhere. If that is not possible ensure unavailable item is marked ND Not Dispensed and refer patient back to the practice. Practice will issue another prescription for patient to take to another pharmacy.

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Patient to liaise with practice and either collect printed green prescription from practice to take elsewhere or agree which pharmacy to send their EPS prescription to.

Note for patients: Patient to try at least 2 other pharmacies for their medication. We advise you try different companies as each pharmacy business uses different suppliers.

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If unsuccessful, please contact practice for an alternative informing the practice exactly which pharmacies you have tried.

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If practice is aware of availability of your medication from a nearby pharmacy, then you will be directed to that pharmacy.

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If no stock available anywhere.

Practice to liaise with your usual pharmacy to prescribe an alternative if an alternative is available.

Note for patients: We will try our best to offer an alternative but please be aware in some cases there may not be an alternative option. You will be notified if this is the case.

Over the counter medicines

NHS Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin ICS does not support the routine prescribing of medication that is available to buy from local pharmacies or supermarkets for children or adults for the management of self-limiting conditions. The medications listed below are examples of medicines that should be purchased by the patient/parent/guardian:

(This list is not exhaustive)

Anti-diarrhoeal medication for short term diarrhoea (<72hrs)

Anti-inflammatory gels e.g. ibuprofen gel

Antifungal preparations e.g. Canesten

Antiperspirants

Bath oils and shower gel (unless recommended by a specialist for infected atopic eczema)

Cough and cold remedies

Haemorrhoidal preparations e.g. Anusol

Hay fever remedies e.g. antihistamines, nasal sprays (patients >18yrs)

Head lice treatments

Ibuprofen for short term use

Indigestion remedies e.g. Gaviscon, Peptac

Laxatives for short term use (<72 hours)

Lactose free infant formula

Lubricating eye drops and chloramphenicol eye drops and eye ointment (patients >2yrs)

Medicated shampoos e.g. Alphosyl, Capasal

Moisturising creams, gels, ointments and balms for dry skin with no diagnosis

Mouthwash e.g. Corsodyl

Nasal douches e.g Sterimar

Paracetamol for short term use

Potassium hydroxide for Molluscum contagiosum e.g. Molludab

Rehydration sachets

Threadworm tablets

Vitamins and supplements e.g. low dose vitamin D (<2,000units), I-Caps, multivitamins

The reasons for this are as follows:

  • Patients have a responsibility to look after themselves and their children where possible and manage self-limiting minor ailments with support from their local pharmacy if needed.
  • Patients should keep a small supply of simple treatments in their own medicine cabinet so they are able to manage minor ailments at home.
  • All these medicines are widely available from supermarkets and pharmacies at reasonable cost.
  • Many of these treatments are more expensive when prescribed on the NHS compared to when they are purchased in pharmacies or supermarkets.
  • The NHS belongs to everybody and the ICS must ensure that its resources are used in the best possible way for all patients.

Named Accountable GP

As part of the NHS commitment to providing more personalised care, from June 2015 all practices are required to provide all their Patients with a named GP who will have overall responsibility for the care and support that our surgery provides.  

  •  This will not impact your experience at the practice, the provision of appointments, your treatment, or which GP you can see
  •  You may wonder why your allocated GP is not necessarily the one you see most regularly.  Please be assured that you can still access all of our medical team in exactly the same way as before
  •  Having a named GP does not guarantee you will always be seen by that GP
  •  Please note that the GP responsible for your care may be subject to change and reallocation in the future

You do not need to take any further action, but if you have any questions or wish to know your named GP, please speak to a member of the reception team.

What does ‘accountable’ mean?

This is largely a role of oversight, with the requirements being introduced to reassure patients that they have one GP within the practice who is responsible for ensuring that this work is carried out on their behalf. The contract remains 'practice based', so overall responsibility for patient care has not changed.

What are the named GP’s responsibilities to 75s and over?

This is unchanged from 2014-2015; for patients aged 75 and over the named accountable GP is responsible for:  

  •  working with relevant associated health and social care professionals to deliver a multi-disciplinary care package that meets the needs of the patient
  •  ensuring that these patients have access to a health check as set out in section 7.9 of the GMS Contract Regulations.

The role of the named GP will not:

  • take on vicarious responsibility for the work of other doctors or health professionals;
  • take on 24-hour responsibility for the patient, or have to change their working hours:
  • imply personal availability for GPs throughout the working week;
  • be the only GP or clinician who will provide care to that patient.

Can patients choose their own named GP

In the first instance, patients should simply be allocated a named GP. However, if a patient requests a particular GP, reasonable efforts should be made to accommodate their preference, recognising that there are occasions when the practice may not feel the patient’s preference is suitable. 

Do patients have to see the named GP when they book an appointment with the practice?

No. Patients can and should feel free to choose to see any GP or nurse in the practice in line with current arrangements. However, some practices may see this change as a way to encourage and promote a greater degree of continuity of care for patients.