Free prescription or not?

grannylyn I find the fact that it is free a disgrace but thats for another thread no doubt.

luckygirl hope your feeling better.

Complicated isn't it.
When I next speak to my pharmacist I will definitely ask her advice.

How extraordinary! - a very similar thing happened to me on Monday. I spent most of the day on a trolley in the corridor of our local A&E, having collapsed and passed out with extremely severe gastric pain. Luckily the pain was controlled very quickly by the ambulance crew, and all the right investigations were done at the hospital in spite of the full corridor. I am to have a further gastroscopy - it is likely to have been a problem with the polyps that I have.

But, like the OP, I was given a prescription after the hospital pharmacy had closed. The chemist my DD took it to said they could not dispense it and we would have to return to the hospital when the pharmacy was open. In fact, my OH has managed to sort out for our GP to counter-sign it and for it to be dispensed free at the surgery, about 2 minutes from us.

No suggestion was made that we might have to pay.

Jayanna9040 I can't find it now! It was a PDF file explaining how the NHS has to recoup the prescription charges from the hospital if a prescription is taken to an outside chemist.

If you can't wait at the hospital pharmacy or it's going to be closed you can ask the doctor to give you a FP10 form so you don't have to pay if you're exempt.

They use different prescription forms for the hospital pharmacy to the ones issued in hospital to be used at outside chemists.

Where did you find that Ana? I got a totally different set of info when I googled though I admit it was a lot to wade through....

We don't pay in Scotland

Have investigated online (should have done that first!) and it's correct, most hospital prescriptions have to be paid for when filled by an outside chemist unless the patient asks for an FP10 which they can take to their local pharmacy.

Apparently you can also take a hospital prescription to your GP so he/she can issue an ordinary green one but some are not best pleased about having to do this!

If the OP did not have proof of her exemption ie driving licence showing age then the pharmacist is required to charge BUT he should have given her a refund form so that she could reclaim. He was completely wrong to say that hospital prescriptions have to be paid for. Had you signed the disclaimer on the form anneey?

Are you sure that's true? I know I didn't have to pay to have my hospital prescription made up by an outside chemist.

I'm not saying this chemist is lying - that would be mad! But can anyone explain this? You'd think anyone exempt from prescription charges would not have to pay, whoever issued the prescription...

I had no idea- I agree, a good incentive to remain open longer.