Temporary Registration
If you are ill while away from home or if you are not registered with a doctor but need to see one you can receive emergency treatment from the local GP practice for 14 days. After 14 days you will need to register as a temporary or permanent patient.
You can be registered as a temporary patient for up to three months. This will allow you to be on the local practice list and still remain a patient of your permanent GP.
To register as a temporary patient simply contact the local practice you wish to use. Practices do not have to accept you as a temporary patient although they do have an obligation to offer emergency treatment. You cannot register as a temporary patient at a practice in the town or area where you are already registered.
Prescriptions
It is the practice policy to provide immediate and necessary treatment to patients staying in the New Romney area. We will only supply you with a maximum of 2 weeks medication. If your own GP surgery uses the NHS Electronic Prescriptions Service you will be able to request your medication from them in the usual way and nominate a local pharmacy in New Romney to collect from.
Oak Hall Surgery also has a practice policy of not prescribing benzodiazepines to immediate and necessary or temporary patients because of the potential for abuse. Examples include: diazepam, lorazepam, oxazepam, temazepam, nitrazepam and clonazepam.
Where can I get an emergency supply of medication?
If you urgently need medication, contact your prescriber immediately to arrange a prescription. If this isn't possible, you may be able to get medicine from a pharmacist in an emergency, subject to certain conditions.
You must have been prescribed the medicine before by a doctor, dentist, nurse independent prescriber, optometrist independent prescriber or other healthcare professional, who is registered in the UK. In addition to this, the pharmacist:
- will usually need to see you face-to-face
- must agree that you need the medicine immediately
- will usually need evidence that you have been prescribed that medicine before
- must be satisfied with the dose that is most appropriate for you to take
The pharmacist may provide an emergency supply of up to 30 days' treatment for most prescription medicines, with these exceptions:
- permitted controlled medicines (controlled drugs) – up to five days' treatment
- insulin, an ointment, a cream or an asthma inhaler – the smallest pack size
- the contraceptive pill – a full treatment cycle
- liquid oral antibiotics – the smallest quantity to provide a full course of treatment
The pharmacist will then make a note in their prescription book of:
- your name and address
- the nature of the emergency
- the date of the emergency supply
- the name, quantity, form (e.g. capsules, tablets or liquid) and strength of the medicine
Even if the pharmacist is unable to give you an emergency supply of a medicine, they will advise you on how to obtain any essential medical care you may need.
Is it an NHS service? No. Supplying medicine in an emergency is a private service that is not funded by the NHS, meaning that pharmacists can charge for it. The charge will vary, depending on the medicine and the pharmacist's policy.