NHS Medicine Order Line ‘not fit for purpose’ – says Chesterfield pensioner as patients ‘give up’ due to waiting time

Adrian Rimington, chairman of the Chesterfield branch of the National Pensioners’ Convention complained about issues residents are facing while using the Medicine Order Line in Derbyshire.

Run by the NHS, the line allows patients to order repeat prescriptions over the telephone or an online ordering form.

The aim of the service is to ‘take away the need for the patient to contact the surgery directly for their repeat medication’ and to ‘reduce medicines waste.’

Mr Rimington said: “From my personal experience and from what other pensioners have told me it is a very great inconvenience to the public. People have to wait over 20 minutes to get through and often hang up in the meantime.

"I know people who have absolutely given up on the line because they take so long answering the phone. Some told me that the service is so hopeless that they have taken to using paper forms to order prescriptions and going to their GP to avoid going through the phone line.

"When you call the phone line they encourage you to use a smartphone or a computer. I don’t have a computer and I don’t know how to order through a smartphone. Many people are in the same situation. It is not a good service for the general public. It is not fit for purpose.”

The Derbyshire Times submitted a Freedom of Information (FOI) request to NHS Derby and Derbyshire Integrated Care Board which is responsible for running the line in Derbyshire.

The information revealed that in August the line was employing 70 people. It is estimated the line helped to prevent medicine waste worth £4,198,990 between January 1 2024 and July 31, 2024. The service did not receive any official complaints during the seven first months of this year.

Commenting on the FOI findings, Mr Rimington added: “I understand that the line helps to save money but I believe they need to employ more staff. With saving over £4m they have scope to employ more people and make the service viable.”

A spokesperson for NHS Derby and Derbyshire Integrated Care Board added: "The Medicines Order Line enables patients across Derby and Derbyshire to order their repeat medications by phone or online.

"It is designed to be more convenient for both the patient and their GP practice and it helps to reduce medicine waste and improve patient safety.

"Many more people are now choosing to order online or to use the NHS app for their repeat prescriptions. This is simple, quick and convenient.

"However, we know that some people prefer to contact us by telephone. We know also that the volume of calls is high and that sometimes people may struggle to get through.

"Our team of telephone operators is working as hard as they can to answer all calls and we ask callers please to be understanding and respectful of them. The size of our team is limited by the resources we have available.

"We will continue to work with patients and our colleagues in general practice and pharmacy to improve the efficiency of the way we work and encourage more people to use the NHS app."