Temporary Residents

If you are ill while away from home and need to receive treatment for a medical condition, you can register as a temporary patient with a practice for up to 3 months.  This will allow you to be on the practice list and still remain a patient of your usual GP.  Simply contact a local practice for advice about this.  Please be aware that you cannot register as a temporary patient anywhere within reasonable distance of your own practice, and that practices are not obliged to accept you on to their list although they do have an obligation to offer emergency treatment.

Temporary registration expires after 3 months, at which point you will have to reapply or register permanently with that practice.

Scottish Residents

If you have run out of medication whilst away from home and are registered with a Scottish GP practice, you can attend any community pharmacy who will be able to help you without the need to be seen by a GP.

UK residents outwith Scotland (i.e. ordinarily resident in England, Wales or Ireland)

Report to any Community Pharmacy in Scotland and present a prescription from your regular GP surgery.  If you do not have a copy of your prescription, please contact your regular GP surgery and request that this is sent via the postal service to you, this may be at your expense.  If a supply is required urgently (and you cannot wait for the prescription to arrive), the Pharmacist may ask YOU to contact your regular GP surgery to request a prescription be scanned and emailed to the Community Pharmacy.  The ‘physical’ prescription (paper copy) must still be sent to the Community Pharmacy.  The prescription charge will be in line with what you normally pay at home.

If a prescription is not available, an emergency supply may still be issued for up to 30 days at the Pharmacist’s discretion.  You will be charged for the actual cost of the medicine (be aware that some medicines cost a lot more than the prescription charge you normally pay) plus the Community Pharmacy dispensing fee plus 20% VAT.