Frequently Asked Questions

ARE YOU LEGALLY ABLE TO DISPENSE PRESCRIPTIONS IN THE UK?
Yes, we are a UK regulated pharmacy, with physical premises. Our pharmacy services are fully compliant with the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain (RSPGB), General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) and NHS primary care trust requirements. All pharmacy premises must have a GPhC registration number, and ours is [insert GPhC Number]

WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR PROCESSING MY PRESCRIPTION?
Tele Chem Pharmacy is in charge of fulfilling and dispensing your prescription orders and request. Our pharmacists are registered with the GPhC. We also have a team of pharmacy technicians who work alongside our pharmacists to prepare prescription requests.

IS THERE A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN PRIVATE PRESCRIPTIONS AND NHS PRESCRIPTIONS?
Yes there is. Private prescriptions are issued by a doctor following a private consultation. With a private prescription there may be additional costs involved, even if a patient may be exempt on the NHS. Any additional costs may be more or less than the standard NHS charge, depending on the type of medication prescribed and the treatment length.

CAN I SPEAK TO THE PHARMACIST ABOUT MY PRESCRIPTION?
Yes of course, you can phone the pharmacist in charge during normal opening hours. Outside of our core opening hours please email to see how we can best help. Our pharmacy details are located on the contact us page. We also offer free confidential advice in our Pharmacy Mini Clinic.

HOW DO I KNOW IF I AM EXEMPT FROM PAYING FOR NHS PRESCRIPTIONS?
By default, everyone pays the standard NHS prescription charge per item on a prescription. Some patients do not pay and you will be entitled to free NHS prescriptions if:

• If you are 60 years and over
• If you are under 16 Years old
• If you are age 16-18 and in full-time education
• If you are pregnant, or have had a baby in the previous 12 months and have a valid maternity exemption certificate
• If you have a listed medical condition (such as type 2 diabetes) and have a valid medical exemption certificate
• If you have a continuing physical disability which means you cannot go out without help from another person and have a valid exemption certificate
• If you hold a valid war pension exemption certificate and the prescription is for your accepted disablement
• If you receive certain state benefits and are named on an NHS tax credit exemption certificate
• If you are named on a valid HC2 certificate

You will only be asked to pay for your prescription when you receive your medicines.

HOW DO I GET AN HC2 CERTIFICATE?
To apply for an HC2 certificate, you should complete form HC1 available from Jobcentre Plus offices or most NHS hospitals. Your doctor, dentist or optician also has these forms available.

WHAT IS THE PRESCRIPTION PREPAYMENT CERTIFICATE (PPC)?
If you are not entitled to free prescriptions and you think you will have to pay for more than three items in three months or 14 items in 12 months, you may find it cheaper to buy a prescription prepayment certificate (PPC).

To check the cost of a PPC you can either ring 0845 850 0030, or contact the pharmacy. The quickest way however is to visit the NHS website on PPC’s via this link

HOW DO I RECEIVE MY MEDICATION?
Once we receive your prescription request, we pass it on to the GP’s on your behalf. Usually your medicines will be ready for collection in 3 working days. If we have any problems in receiving your prescription we will contact you as soon as possible.

If you have made a request via our Online Private service, then we will use secure Royal Mail services to deliver your medication to you directly. All packaging will be discreet, with no indication of what is inside the package.

PURCHASING MEDICINE ONLINE Through our online pharmacy website you can purchase a wide range of medicines. Some of these medicines have a legal classification as ‘Pharmacy Medicines’ or ‘P-Meds’. In a pharmacy setting these would only be sold under the supervision of the pharmacist on duty.Any orders containing P-Meds must be accompanied by a completed online Health Questionnaire which will automatically be generated at the online checkout. We cannot dispense P medicines without a Health Questionnaire. The Health Questionnaire takes less than 2 minutes to complete, but ensures that medicines are used safely and in a manner which will not cause harm.