Order your medication in time for Christmas
With the countdown to Christmas now on, people are being advised to order any repeat prescription items they need ahead of the festive period.
The Medicine Order Line (MOL) expects high demand over Christmas and New Year. If your medication is due during the weeks of 22 or 29 December, you can order through the Medicine Order Line 14 days before the due date instead of the usual 7.
For example, if it’s due on 25 December, order from 11 December. Controlled drugs follow normal rules and cannot be issued early.
The MOL will be closed on 25 and 26 December and 1 January, so please plan ahead.
You can order your prescriptions online via www.derbyshiremol.nhs.uk , on the NHS App, or through your GPs system.
Pharmacy opening hours will change over Christmas and New Year, if you usually collect your medication from a pharmacy, you will need to order before 10 December to ensure pharmacy teams are able to process your request in time.
Dr Dave Briggs, Medical Director at NHS Derby and Derbyshire said: “It just takes a couple of minutes to check what medication you have at home and order any repeat prescriptions you need via the NHS App or Medicine Order Line.
“Getting repeat prescriptions requested in plenty of time helps our busy pharmacy colleagues manage demand and ensure everyone gets their medication ahead of Christmas.”
Local pharmacies offer a convenient way to get advice and treatment on a range of minor illnesses. Pharmacists can now offer prescription medicine for some conditions, without you needing to see a GP or make an appointment.
Conditions they can offer prescription medicine for are:
• impetigo (aged 1 year and over)
• infected insect bites (aged 1 year and over)
• earache (aged 1 to 17 years)
• sore throat (aged 5 years and over)
• sinusitis (aged 12 years and over)
• urinary tract infections (UTIs) (women aged 16 to 64 years)
• shingles (aged 18 years and over)
You can also start using oral contraception or get a repeat supply of oral contraception from most pharmacies without the need to visit a GP. This includes the emergency hormonal contraception – also known as the morning after pill.