If you have recently seen a specialist (NHS/private) or have been discharged from hospital and a recommendation has been made for a GP to prescribe a medication, we greatly appreciate your patience in waiting for our team to receive and process the relevant correspondence. This can take up to 2 weeks.

Each day the practice receives a large volume of letters from secondary care and it is important that our administration team follow a process to prioritise processing letters for urgent medication requests (e.g.oncology/palliative patients). From a letter, as well as processing a medication request, our team also need to code all new relevant diagnoses/observations etc.. to a patient's medical record - this takes time.

Requests for a GP to prescribe medication by a specialist/hospital are at the GP's discretion and if it is not felt appropriate for a GP to prescribe a medication then the GP will write to the specialist clinician. Reasons for this include:

• Relevant blood tests to ensure safety before a medication has been started have not occurred
• It is not clear from corresponsence that the specialist has discussed important side effects and precautions, including any need for ongoing monitoring, with the patient.
• 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 suregery 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 we have not yet received the discahrge summary, please provide the surgery with a copy of the discahrge summary either in person or call the surgery to request a link for you to send it digitally.
• 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 we have not yet received a letter, please provide the surgery with a copy of the consultant letter either in person or call the surgery to request a link for you to send it digitally.
• You have waited for more than 2 weeks from the date the letter was sent by the specialist's secretary and not had your medication prescribed (please kindly call the specialist's secretary, prior to calling the surgery, to confirm when the letter was sent). We cannot issue these medications without a consultant letter. If we have not yet received a letter, please provide the surgery with a copy of the consultant letter either in person or call the surgery to request a link for you to send it digitally.