How long does a pharmacy keep a prescription?

Pharmacies will often keep your dispensed medicines for you until a convenient time for you to collect, and the length of time they hold it usually ranges between 2-4 weeks. 

At OneWelbeck Pharmacy we would discuss this with you and help ensure the medicines are still appropriate for you to use, such an antibiotic that was not collect for 2 weeks may no longer be suitable for you, and we would discuss with your Doctor as necessary to ensure you receive the best possible care.  

Some of our patients are on long-term medicines for chronic conditions such as asthma, and let us know they have some unopened in-date inhalers at home they will use first so will collect their prescription when they next come to visit us in a months’ time.  So we make a note and also check the product expiry dates that they will still suitable and safe to use at this time.  It is better to let us know in advance so we can make a note and not disturb you when we contact you to follow up. 

The OneWelbeck pharmacy team regularly checks any prescriptions not collected to ensure patients get the most out of their medicines,  and will contact patients to support them with collecting them.  We offer a delivery service if this helps, even for refrigerated items, and someone else can collect if you can’t.  And should you no longer be on the medicine, or obtained a supply elsewhere, we would make a note and record the prescription on your record, which the Consultant has access to, and restock the medicines for another patient. 

We understand circumstances change and aim to make everything as seamless and convenient as possible so you have the right medicines at the right time for your condition.   

Private prescriptions are valid for up to six months from the date on which the prescription was signed by the prescriber.  OneWelbeck Pharmacy accepts UK private paper prescriptions and also electronically signed prescriptions, both from OneWelbeck and also other prescribers, and these are all valid for six months. 

Sometimes, the private prescription can be supplied multiple times and is known as a ‘repeatable prescription’.  This is when a prescriber indicates on the prescription a direction that the item can be dispensed more than once, e.g. ‘repeat x 5’.  This means the pharmacy would supply it in the initial instance, and then the same prescription can be repeated 5 times so in total 6 supplies can be made against the same prescription.  

Although there is no time limit for remaining repeats, our specialist pharmacists would always use their professional judgement, taking consideration clinical factors, to determine whether the item was still appropriate for you. 

At OneWelbeck Pharmacy, we may have a patient who comes in to collect their repeatable item monthly, or we may deliver to their home all or any of the repeats, whichever is more convenient we are happy to discuss with you and arrange.  

At OneWelbeck Pharmacy, we understand you may not want to wait for your prescription to be dispensed after your clinical appointment, especially if you have been in the building for a while, or have other commitments elsewhere to attend.  Working closely with the OneWelbeck Consultants, we are familiar with their prescribing practices so can work as efficiently as possible to help ensure you don’t wait too long for us to prepare your medicines. 

Whilst the team prepare your medicines, you are welcome to relax in our lounge area, enjoy a hot drink and light refreshment, or welcome to go shopping in Marylebone and return later in the day or another time convenient. 

And unlike many other pharmacies, we offer an SMS messaging option so you are alerted when your prescription is ready or should we like to speak to you about your items.  For our patients who do not have or prefer not to use the SMS messaging option, we offer a portable small long-range buzzer which can be used locally outside of the building. 

If you don’t pick up your prescription, you are very welcome to collect another day that best suits, someone else collect for you, or the pharmacy team will gladly arrange for a delivery service option. 

Absolutely yes.  At OneWelbeck Pharmacy some of our patients have chaperones who we arrange this with and we are more than happy to arrange with anyone involved in your care. 

Most of our patients collect their prescription after their clinic appointment, however sometimes the Consultant may write the prescription when the patient is not physically in the building, and other times patients have another engagement to go to and can’t wait for us to prepare the items.  It may be that in these cases someone else is planned to collect the items on the patient’s behalf.  OneWelbeck Pharmacy can help with all these situations whether it collect another day, we deliver or collected by someone else such as a chaperone, housekeeper, carer, nanny for your children’s medicines, family member or friend. 

They would need to provide the name and address of the person they are collecting the prescription for and have proof of identity (such as driving license or passport).  For some items they would need to sign as collected, and for all collections they would need to pay for the items unless they were paid for already when the prescription was given to us, or someone can pay over the phone.   

If we had any concerns, we would always contact you, and also if we had specific details to discuss with you such as starting a new medicine that we wanted to ensure you knew the directions for so you get those most out of the treatment. 

Alternatively, for a more discreet service the specialist pharmacy team at OneWelbeck Pharmacy can hand deliver your medicines to any of the clinical Centres inside the building where we can discuss your medicines with you the same way as if you had collected from pharmacy, such as how to use a new inhaler, or talk about any potential side effects.  

To support our patients with medicines, all patients at OneWelbeck Pharmacy are counselled on their medicines upon collection by our trained team. We also have a dedicated private pharmacy consultation room, where we can have a confidential in-depth discussion about your medicines should you wish.  

We will happily look after you for your medicines needs and try and make life as seamless and convenient as possible for you.  Our highly skilled specialist pharmacists and team including pharmacy technician and dispenser, are always on hand for medicines or prescription advice, however trivial it may seem.  We give every patient the time they need, whilst being as efficient as possible, to provide a safe and tailored service to optimise medicines outcome.

From checking allergies and other medicines you may take when you hand in your prescription, so our expert pharmacists can check for medicines interactions to maintain your safety, to offering a bespoke dosing schedule print out for complex dose timing, we always make our service as personalised as possible.

We are totally integrated with the Consultants and nurses at OneWelbeck which enables us to provide a seamless service, with medicines stocked only from high quality international wholesalers, and in-depth knowledge of the various medicines and conditions our Consultants prescribe for.

We have a range of specialist medicines for all specialties at OneWelbeck, often hard-to-get hold of medicines we stock here so you do not delay treatment, being able to deliver medicines including refrigerated items directly to your home if this helps.

Overall, OneWelbeck Pharmacy team will gladly see how we can offer you options to help you get the most out of your medicines.