If you saw a specialist or left the hospital, and they suggested a medication from your GP, please be patient. We appreciate your understanding as our team processes the necessary paperwork. This can take up to 2 weeks.

Each day, the practice gets many letters from secondary care. It’s important for our admin team to prioritize urgent medication requests, like those for oncology or palliative patients. We need to code new diagnoses and observations from a letter and a medication request into the patient’s medical record. This takes time.

A GP decides whether to prescribe medication requested by a specialist or hospital. If they think it's not suitable, they will contact the specialist clinician. Reasons for this include:

• Relevant blood tests to ensure safety before a medication has been started have not occurred

• The correspondence does not show if the specialist talked about key side effects and precautions with the patient. This includes whether ongoing monitoring is needed.

• The recommendation is not in line in with the locally agreed formularies.

• The medication should be part of a Shared Care Agreement (further information below) that has not yet been fulfilled

  • https://www.hantsiow.icb.nhs.uk/your-health/medicines-optimisation/information-health-care-professionals/guidance-and-resources/shared-care

Please contact the surgery if

• You have been discharged from hospital and only have 5 days of your new medications left. We cannot issue these medications without a discharge summary. If you haven't sent the discharge summary yet, please give it to the surgery. You can do this in person or by calling them for a digital link.

• You feel you will come to harm if you do not have the specialist prescribed medication within the next 5 days. We cannot issue these medications without a consultant letter. If you haven't sent us a letter yet, please bring a copy of the consultant letter to the surgery. You can also call us to get a link to send it digitally.

• It's been over 2 weeks since the specialist's secretary sent the letter. You still haven't received your medication. First, please call the specialist's secretary. Check when the letter was sent. Then, contact the surgery. We cannot issue these medications without a consultant letter. If you haven't sent a letter yet, please bring a copy of the consultant letter to the surgery. You can also call us to get a link to send it digitally.