Coronavirus: Launch of prescription medicine delivery service in Fife

A priority home delivery service has been launched to help ensure that people unable to collect their prescription medicines are supported during the Covid-19 pandemic.

As part of NHS Fife’s ongoing Covid-19 resilience, the health board is working with community pharmacies and public and private sector organisations to deliver medicines to vulnerable, elderly and at risk people.

From today, volunteers will collect prescription medicines from community pharmacies and hospitals, and deliver them to people at their home.

The first deliveries started this morning and include prescriptions already assembled and ready for collection. The service will expand next week to include the delivery of prescription medicines ordered from today.

To access the delivery service, a phone line will operate between 9am and 5pm, Monday to Friday. You can also email the service at any time.

Email: [email protected]

Phone: 0800 389 6046

To have your medicines delivered you should:

Contact your GP Practice to request your prescription.

Tell your GP Practice which community pharmacy you would like the prescription sent to. For many people, you will have already done this and the GP Practice will know. If not, you should suggest a community pharmacy near to your home.

Next, contact the delivery service by phone or email.

You should provide your name, your GP practice, the community pharmacy, your home address and on which date you ordered the prescription from your GP.

You should also advise via telephone or by email of any special instructions for delivery, if there are items which need to be stored in the fridge, or how to operate the buzzer if you live in a flat.

Volunteer drivers will try to attend community pharmacies to collect prescriptions from 9am -10am or 5pm – 6pm when pharmacies may be closed to the public. This is to minimise risk and disruption to services.

Scott Garden, NHS Fife director of pharmacy, said: “We are working closely with all our partners to make sure those who need our support during this difficult time are able to access it.

“It is important to stress that this is not a service for general use. It has been set up exclusively for those who need it most, such as people who are self isolating and have no family member, carer or friends nearby who can collect their prescriptions for them.

“The service is likely to be inundated with enquiries and requests this week while it finds it feet, which will have an effect on community pharmacy teams. As such, please note, repeat prescriptions may take longer to be dispensed – please allow seven-10 working days.

“We appreciate your patience during this time and we are working hard with colleagues in community pharmacy to provide the best service we can in uniquely challenging times.”