NHS bosses are urging patients across Brighton and Hove to order repeat prescriptions before the Christmas and new year bank holidays.
The new integrated care board, NHS Sussex, said: “Patients in Sussex who rely on regular prescribed medication are being reminded by the local NHS to order repeat prescriptions ahead of the Christmas and new year bank holidays to avoid running out and putting strain on out of hours services which are there to deal with urgent health problems.
“Most pharmacies and GP surgeries in Sussex are closed or have reduced hours during the Christmas and new year bank holidays.
“Running out of daily medication over a bank holiday could have serious consequences, especially for patients who rely on their prescriptions to control heart and breathing problems.”
NHS Sussex said: “The Christmas and new year bank holidays are always busy times for the NHS so picking up a repeat prescription in advance really does help us help you.
“That’s why we are reminding patients, their families and carers to please check now that they have enough daily medication to see them through Christmas and new year bank holidays, especially if travelling and staying away from home during the festive period.”
There are also online services and apps that patients can use to order a repeat prescription, including by logging into the NHS app or NHS website.
Patients can also use www.nhs.uk/health-at-home to order repeat prescriptions to collect from a local pharmacist, contact their GP and access services to manage wellbeing without leaving home.
There’s a lot more we can do to improve repeat dispensing, particularly when we have very low uptakes of batch prescribing of long-term medications. It’s a challenge for GPs, but will reward them with a greatly reduced monthly workload once set up.