Prescription Ordering
We offer a repeat prescription service to patients who need medication on a regular basis.
All requests for repeat prescriptions should be made online using the Patient Access service, by email to catshill.surgery@nhs.net or in writing and delivered to the surgery.
As of 1st June 2021 we will be unable to take prescription requests over the telephone.
Request a repeat prescription online
It is advised you have a nominated pharmacy. You will need to make contact with your chosen pharmacy for this to be arranged.
Please note that we require two working days to process a request, a pharmacy will also require time to produce the medication.
Patient Access
Please either complete the forms below or contact Reception for details on how to sign up and be issued your unique pin.
As a patient at our practice, you can now register to book appointments, request repeat prescriptions and access your own electronic medical record, through a cutting-edge scheme designed to put patients at the heart of their healthcare.
Patient Access - Information Leaflet (PDF, 295KB)
Online access to medical records (DOCX, 31KB)
Please complete the registration form and bring it to the surgery with two forms of identification, one of which must be photo ID eg Passport or Driving Licence photo card and the other with proof of address. Proxy access is also available upon request for recognised carers of young children and adults offering the option of managing GP records online.
You will then be given your personal PIN and you can complete the registration process at www.patientaccess.com
Download the NHS App, or open the NHS website in a web browser, to set up and log in to your NHS account. Owned and run by the NHS, your NHS account is a simple and secure way to access a range of NHS services online.
For more information or to download the NHS App visit www.nhs.uk/nhs-app
Prospective online access to records Nov 2023
The Government and NHSE have unilaterally mandated (i.e. without consultation from General Practice as data controllers of patient records) that from November 2023 all patients must have automatic prospective access to their patient records, regardless of any consent process or safety checks.
As the data controllers of our patients’ records we are aware that not all patients would wish this process to be automatically enabled without their consent. There are also patient cohorts that may be not suitable to have automatic access to records due to potential risks of harm to the patient’s welfare.
We have conducted our own Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) in accordance with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) requirements, and have identified ongoing potential risks re: automatic prospective access and safeguarding patient safety and welfare. These ongoing risks and concerns regrettably in our view, remain unresolved by NHSE and the Government.
The Practice is keen to provide prospective access to those patients (or their verified representative) who wish to have this access. However, rather than providing automatic unchecked access, we are opting for a more robust and controlled process where patients (or their representative) must have their identity verified, read and sign a consent form, before our team are able to run clinical assurance checks prior to granting access. This is to ensure that all patients (or their representative) requesting access to their patient records understand all potential risks (including safe keeping of their confidential health records), and also to enable us to maintain our duties and legal responsiblities as the data controllers of patient records.
Key considerations and risks about prospective online access to records:
- Forgotten history
There may be something you have forgotten about in your record that you might find upsetting.
- Abnormal results or bad news
If your GP has given you access to test results or letters, you may see something that you find upsetting to you. This may occur before you have spoken to your doctor or while the surgery is closed, and you cannot contact them.
- Choosing to share your information with someone
It is up to you whether you share your information with others – perhaps family members or carers. It’s your choice, but also your responsibility to keep the information safe and secure.
- Coercion
If you think you may be pressured into revealing details from your patient record to someone else against your will, it is best that you do not register for access at this time.
- Misunderstood information
Your medical record is designed to be used by clinical professionals to ensure that you receive the best possible care. Some of the information within your medical record may be highly technical, written by Specialists and not easily understood. If you require further clarification, please contact your Specialist team or the Practice for a clearer explanation. Please note that this could impact on the availability of appointments for more urgent clinical problems.
- Information about someone else
If you spot something in the record that is not about you or notice any other errors, you must log out of the system immediately and contact the Practice as soon as possible.
So what does this mean in practice?
Those patients that wish prospective records access will be added to a waiting list for our admin team to arrange formal verification, consent and clinical assurance checks.
From these checks, should there be an identified need for further discussion between the patient (or their representative) with a GP prior to granting prospective records access, this will be arranged.
We anticipate that this process should not take significantly longer than 40 days to process, but this may be subject to other factors such as volume of requests, staffing levels and other clinical priority areas that we may be mandated to focus on by NHSE e.g. winter flu and covid19 pressures.
We hope that this process will run smoothly for both patients and the Practice, but more importantly we feel very strongly that this is the safest approach to minimise any risks of harm to patients and data breaches.
Thank you for your support and understanding.
For more info:
Seeing your medical records www.patients-association.org.uk/seeing-your-medical-records
What you need to know about your GP online record www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/what-you-need-to-know-about-your-gp-online-record.pdf
Commonly found abbrevations in medical records www.nhs.uk/nhs-app/nhs-app-help-and-support/health-records-in-the-nhs-app/abbreviations-commonly-found-in-medical-records/
Joint letter from BMA and Refuge regarding concerns over automatic prospective access to patient records www.bma.org.uk/bma-media-centre/bma-and-refuge-highlight-medical-record-access-concerns-for-survivors-of-domestic-abuse
Joint letter from BMA and Refuge regarding concerns over automatic prospective access to patient records refuge.org.uk/news/joint-letter-on-concerns-around-survivors-medical-records-on-nhs-app/