PESKY trips to the doctors’ just to pick up a repeat prescription are a thing of the past.

Bexley is the first London borough and the second area in the country to introduce an Electronic Prescription Service (EPS) which means GPs can send repeat prescriptions – which make up 70 per cent of prescriptions - electronically to a pharmacy nominated by the patient.

Twenty-four of the borough’s 28 surgeries are running the system, and in order to benefit you need to nominate a pharmacy by completing a form at your doctor’s surgery, a pharmacy or on the Bexley Care Trust website – Bexley.nhs.uk.

Belvedere resident June Smith said: “This new service is a real time saver. I’m a busy mum of four and rely on my diabetes medication. I chose to have my repeat prescription sent to a pharmacy near to my work so I can collect it at a convenient time.”

GP and Bexley Clinical Cabinet member, Dr Varun Bhalla said: “The new service means you won’t have to visit your GP practice each time to pick up your paper prescription. You will have more choice about where to get your medicines, because they can be collected from a pharmacy near to where you live, work or shop.”

Pharmacist Bipin Patel from the Bexleyheath Broadway pharmacy said: “Pharmacists across the borough have been working with GPs and other organisations to replace paper prescriptions. Around one-and-a-half million prescriptions are issued every day and roughly 70 per cent of these are for a repeat medication.

“The new service frees up GP time to deal with patients while waiting times at pharmacies will be cut and the workload for prescribing staff will be significantly reduced.”