bob M Posted July 4, 2008 Share Posted July 4, 2008 Hi, This may be of interest to persons going away for 3 months this winter. Most people I speak to on site if over 60 appear to be on pills etc. Collected my repeat prescription this morning and received the following letter from the surgery. Dear Patient The Government has asked all Practices to reduce the amount of repeat medicines that patients can receive. Instead of receiving three months of your medicines each time, you will now only get two months supply. Unfortunately this is something which we HAVE to comply with and cannot change the rules for individual patients. We are sorry for the inconvenience that this may cause. The --------- Surgery. My wife who relies on insulin will find this inconvenient, we may be able to buy some in Spain, but finding the correct type could be difficult. I accidently boiled her insulin in France last year ( reversed the polarity on the cooler box ), it took 2 days to find a chemist who could supply her types and cost approx. 106 euros for sixteen days supply. A hospitial supplied the prescription on production of the healthcard. Had this accident occured in Spain I believe it would have been cheaper. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted July 4, 2008 Share Posted July 4, 2008 I appreciate the restrictions of 2 months worth of tablets as opposed to 3 will cause a lot of us. I get 2 monthly prescriptions and have discussed this in the past and GP said they can supply 3 months if traveling......maybe as you say this has changed. Regards the insulin, is your wifes prescription that tight that she uses all that she gets? I have probably six months worth spare as I get a bit more then I need... I think I will keep some in a separate travel cool pouch I use for air travel after reading of your problems, but we have a normal fridge so all should be well *-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
net-traveller Posted July 4, 2008 Share Posted July 4, 2008 A few thoughts occur to me over this. Is this an example of postcode problems? I put in for a repeat prescription this week and have got the usual 3 packs. A month or so back put the other halfs in with a note saying 'it's a bit early as we're going on holiday'. Got it no problem. Recently I needed to bring my prescription items into line and again, with an explanation, had no problem. The other thought, being a cynical soul, is that it's a nice little earner for the NHS if you have to pay for your prescription. ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean Ray Posted July 4, 2008 Share Posted July 4, 2008 Hi there, I don't know whether this helps, but what I would do is get my daughter of someone else to get the repeated perscription for me and ask them to post it on to me. Jean & Ray Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randonneur Posted July 4, 2008 Share Posted July 4, 2008 Jean & Ray - 2008-07-04 7:01 PM Hi there, I don't know whether this helps, but what I would do is get my daughter of someone else to get the repeated perscription for me and ask them to post it on to me. Jean & Ray If medicines are posted abroad you would be very lucky to receive them. This happened to us a few years ago and the medicines never arrived. When I get my Insulin there is always more than I can use in a month so therefore I always have a reserve stock in. I can only get prescriptions for 2 months but if going away the Doctor will extend the prescription. As your Wife is a Diabetic you should be able to get emergency Insulin via a Doctor in Europe and producing your EHIC card you would only pay 70% of the cost but being a Diabetic you may not have to pay at all. As far as the make of the Insulin, it is usually the same here in France or Spain as in the UK. What name or generic name is it? Sylvia Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bob M Posted July 4, 2008 Author Share Posted July 4, 2008 Hi, Thanks for your interest.Will try to answer all. JudgeMental :she has a little over and will try to improve on this. We split it between fridge and cooler box and there was 3 days in fridge the rest in box. Is split better since the accident. net-traveller :Buckinghamshire and there is a reason for this!!! Jean + Ray :insulin needs to be stored in fridge. Randonneur :the card produced the prescription for free from the hospital, the chemist we eventually found offered to order the 2 types of insulin in, a wait of 6 hours. We had located 1 type in one chemist and the other type in another town and as we only speak 2 or 3 words of French it appeared that if we took just one we would lose the prescription to that chemist. The wife takes 5 injections per day made up of Humalog cartridge and Levemir penfil cartridge. I claimed on the insurance (minus £50).If you cannot speak French I think the claims process would be complicated in France. I think its better to have these problems on the Spainish Costas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrianR Posted July 4, 2008 Share Posted July 4, 2008 You could try applying for another two months supply after only a month. This way you could build up a stock of medicine, enough to last for your holiday. The two month rule has been applied by my doctor for some years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrianR Posted July 4, 2008 Share Posted July 4, 2008 Another point that I should have mentioned is that you need to arrange for someone to hand in your repeat prescription at the usual 2 month interval whilst you are away. This maintains the "stock" which you have built up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randonneur Posted July 4, 2008 Share Posted July 4, 2008 Hi Bob, My Insulin is Levemir pen cartridge also, plus Novanorm and Stagid. In all Pharmacies there should be someone who speaks English. In France when you get a prescription or pay for drugs you should get a brown and white form stating the drugs given and how much has been charged. This is then your basis for a refund of costs. I have been told that you can claim on this when you are back in the UK but I am not sure, maybe you could find out from your local office that deals with Prescriptions. We used to have one in Bolton but I can't for the life of me remember what it was called. If we get one of these forms we have to send it off to the local Social Security here for re-imbursement because we are in the French system. Maybe that is what non-French residents have to do as well and be re-imbursed into your Uk Bank account. Going back to the letter from the Surgery, can you not explain to the Practice Manager that you will be away for 3 months and this is an exception and not what will normally happen. I think they may take each case on merit. I can understand them doing what they have done because so many drugs are issued on repeat prescriptions and end up in the bin. Hope you get it sorted. Sylvia Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michele Posted July 4, 2008 Share Posted July 4, 2008 Easy working for a \doctor for years you learn the tricks and its wide open to abuse ...especilly when we have put into the pot . You ask for a two month script you cash it you wait a week and something has happened to it your cleaner has thrown it out your son accidentally put it in the bin millions of reasons I am sure i will leave to your own imagination ...You go back and ask for a script refill they dont really have the option they cant call you a liar after all it may be true you could drop loose smash a bottle ...belivev me it works Not nice to cheat but if the medicines are not being wasted why not . Suppose someone will put me to right now ,,,it still happens .. Good luck Ops forgot some patients used to get the scrip cash it joing the doctors at there familys on a temp basis say they had left their drugs at home and couldnt go for them as needed urgently and hey presto dont forget the new temp GP dont want to turn you away he gets paid for that .now you have another script .. devious but you learn everything .we had one woman who used to send a shipping order back to Nigeria work that out . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patricia Posted July 5, 2008 Share Posted July 5, 2008 First of all I don't know which insurance company you use but I use my bank's (Lloyds TSB) and pay a small amount extra each year to avoid having an excess to pay. Secondly my doctor operates a computer system whereby I can log on wherever I am to order a repeat prescription or to book an appointment etc. They then send the prescription to my chemist and so anyone could then pick it up for me. In fact I could just phone the chemist and he would organise the prescription. At the moment I collect a huge carrier bag every three months so there is no way this could be sent out. But if two months is to be the norm I will have to stock up somehow too. Thirdly if you don't have a French bank account and you do not stay in the same part of France for an extended period you would be better sending the brown form to Newcastle (I think!) but you will wait some time to get the refund. If the claim is big enough though the insurance company will deal with it for you. For those who have permanent or second homes in France it is possible to get a dispensation for 30 serious conditions (such as diabetes, high blood pressure, cancer, heart problems etc.) so that you don't pay in the first place. I have managed to get this for two other people but they keep ignoring my applications for some reason (I am diabetic too but it is controlled by tablets). If I have to visit the doctor etc, I have the refund paid straight into my French bank now. Incidentally I have always found that medicines in France are much cheaper than in England i.e. the same figures but in euros not pounds. My late husband had to have three-monthly injections which cost £453 but in France €453 saving one third at the time. As Sylvia says the pharmacists generally speak English and are very obliging. One sent her husband out to me after 8pm (14 mile round trip)with painkilling injections and when I took her a bottle of wine as a thank you she couldn't understand why I thought I needed to thank her! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bob M Posted July 5, 2008 Author Share Posted July 5, 2008 Hi again, Thanks Michele & Patricia, we will get around it. Normally travelling slowly through France so would be a hassle trying to get prescription money back over there. The address in UK is Medical Benefits. The Pension Service Tyneview Park Newcastle Upon Tyne NE98 1BA This address is taken from the www.costablancanews.es site which states some difficulties have been experienced by holidaymakers over 60/65(male) trying to obtain prescription drugs using the EHIC card and gives this address to obtain a refund. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coachman Posted July 5, 2008 Share Posted July 5, 2008 Our surgery for some time now only presribes for 28 days and it is a pain sometimes but when we go away they do allow extra. :'( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peterjl Posted July 6, 2008 Share Posted July 6, 2008 Hi I am in a position to be able to give you some info. GP surgery's are independant contractors who have a contract with the local PCT - this is an important point to remember as they do not have to do what the PCT ask as long as they meet the terms of contract which has been drawn up centrally between DoH and BMA. Different PCT's will follow different rules (its is supposed to fthem to meet local requirements) so there is a post code lottery here. The DoH, for at least the last 5 years to my knowledge have been encouraging GP's to Reduce wasteage by issueing only 28 day prescriptions however the GP's, whatever the local PCT say, do NOT have to follow this advise. That being said practices have always had a notional medicaltion budget. In recent years Practice Based Commissioning, as brought in 3 years ago by this givernment, may mean that if the local practices can save on that budget the surplus can be utilsed to fund other patient services which, interpreted broadly, can also help to fund practice expansion. At least thats the idea but i beleive the examples of this happening are not yet thick on the ground. This means that GP practices may have signed up to save money on prescription budget and one way to help acheive this is reduce wasteage by reducing repeat prescription times. This policy is proven to work. The key thing to remember is that the GP can overide that and issue a prescription for 3 + months if they decide its in the patients interest. I would recommend that if going away for 3 months you put that in writing to GP and ask for a three month prescription - if they refuse ask for a telephone consultation and ask direct. Even better if you have to see the GP ask face to face. My experience is that this will work in 99 out of 100. If that doesn't work cheat as described in an earlier post. I can say that locally to me many practices have a 2 month policy but will flex that if in certain circumstances. Hope that helps Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
franki Posted July 6, 2008 Share Posted July 6, 2008 Hi Franki here, we were in Spain for six months this year and during that time we went from buying my medication over the counter to the same pharmacia saying the rule has now changed in Spain and you need a prescription to prove you are taking the medication or a letter off your doctor. If not you have to see a GP in Spain. I couldnt even purchase co-codamol over the counter. We are off to Spain again in September for a few months so I will be interested to see if my GP will give me my life saving drugs for three months. Thanks for the info Frank Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrianR Posted July 6, 2008 Share Posted July 6, 2008 I don't see how reducing the supply of repeat prescription drugs to 2 months can possibly save on the supply of drugs - surely, what they are trying to do is to reduce the quantity of drugs on one off prescriptions, and the repeat presciptions have got caught up in a loosely worded directive. Another point to be aware of is that if you are going to be away for more than 3 months and you make your doctor aware of this, he should strike you of his list and say you have to register again when you return, so be careful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patricia Posted July 6, 2008 Share Posted July 6, 2008 BrianR - 2008-07-06 6:01 PM I don't see how reducing the supply of repeat prescription drugs to 2 months can possibly save on the supply of drugs - surely, what they are trying to do is to reduce the quantity of drugs on one off prescriptions, and the repeat presciptions have got caught up in a loosely worded directive. Another point to be aware of is that if you are going to be away for more than 3 months and you make your doctor aware of this, he should strike you of his list and say you have to register again when you return, so be careful. With regards to your first point, I suppose their cheerful thinking is that you might die before the three months are up and then the medication is wasted as it can't be re-issued! Secondly, I was warned about the three-month rule by the lady at |Newcastle and also by the Department of Health in London. Apparently your National Health stamps that you have paid all your working life have nothing to do with covering your health once you have retired! She actually told me that only immigrants can receive this privilege and that if I stayed away more than three months I would have to pay my English doctor for a consultation even supposing he would agree to see me!However, I thought that the three-month rule had been extended to six months now but I may be wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bob M Posted July 7, 2008 Author Share Posted July 7, 2008 Hi Patricia Still 3 months, the Spainish paper I mentioned in my last thread states : Under current regulations, anyone who spends more than 3 months living outside the UK is no longer automatically entitled to free NHS treatment in England. This includes people who are in receipt of UK state retirement pensions. Watch out when you book that ferry for more than 3 months. Fridays edition ran an article on the subject of the "EU is currently negotiating a deal with Washington to enable US agencies (CIA etc) to access our bank accounts,travel plans and sites we access on the internet" You will soon be watched. Interesting article Peterjl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patricia Posted July 7, 2008 Share Posted July 7, 2008 Anyone else remember the film / book 1984? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patricia Posted July 7, 2008 Share Posted July 7, 2008 I have just found the following quote on a Government website. Whether this applies I don't know but it does state six-month stays:Who can receive all NHS treatment free of charge: Some people from abroad can receive all NHS hospital treatment free of charge. If you are entitled to free NHS hospital treatment, your spouse, civil partner and dependent child(ren) will also be able to receive free treatment, but only if they live with you permanently in the UK.You can receive free NHS hospital treatment if you:- are a UK state pensioner who spends up to six months a year living in another European Economic Area (EEA) state, but are not a resident of that state Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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