Urgent medications requested by Hospital

There are no circumstances in which a GP must prescribe urgent medications requested by the hospital. Regardless of what you may have been told at hospital, the hospital itself is responsible for supplying any urgent medications they recommend. They must provide at least 7 days worth of this medication. Failure of the hospital to supply the required urgent medications represents a breach of the hospital contract. See below for further information. *

GPs do prescribe medications requested by the hospital, but these are on a routine basis and require written instructions that are sent to us in the form of typed discharge summaries, outpatient prescriptions or clinic letters. As they are routine requests, they are processed in the normal manner and can take 7 working days.

We do not prescribe medications based on patient request only, without written confirmation from the hospital. This is for clinical safety reasons.

* The following is an extract from the NHS Standard Contract 2024/25, which hospitals must work to, regarding the supply of urgent medication:

11.10 Where a Service User [patient] has an immediate clinical need for medication to be supplied following outpatient clinic attendance, the Provider [hospital] must itself supply to the Service User an adequate quantity of that medication to last for the period required by local practice, in accordance with any requirements set out in the A, CR, MH NHS Standard Contract 2024/25  Service Conditions (Full Length) Transfer of and Discharge from Care Protocols (but at least sufficient to meet the Service User’s immediate clinical needs until the Service User’s GP receives the relevant Clinic Letter and can prescribe accordingly)