Prescription service users in Coventry 'must be supported'

The NHS Prescription Ordering Direct (POD) scheme was set up in Coventry and Warwickshire in 2015

Coventry residents who use a medicine prescription scheme must be fully supported as the service winds down, a champion of local healthcare has said.

The Prescription Ordering Direct (POD) scheme was designed to cut waste, saving the NHS millions annually.

Since a 2015 rollout in Coventry and Warwickshire, POD allowed prescriptions to be taken directly from patients of 70 GP surgeries online and by phone.

But the system ends in March, drawing caution from Healthwatch Coventry.

Under the change, surgeries are to go back to being directly in charge of distributing repeat prescriptions, ending an arrangement that, according to the watchdog, has been "important" for patients, albeit one with "ongoing issues".

Healthwatch Coventry also said it was concerned that some service users may be left unsupported during a transitional period in which smartphone apps had been suggested as a means of accessing medication.

A city council briefing in 2018 said POD was estimated to be saving about £6m per year by patients ordering directly before their requests were passed on to a GP to be signed off.

But health bosses have since cited a "lack of value for money", as well as worsening performance and operational problems.

The change will see GP practices return to being directly in charge of distributing repeat prescriptions

Healthwatch Coventry said some people had encountered "long waits" on the phone or had to "make multiple phone calls" while using the service.

But it added it was concerned that POD staff were "likely to move on" during a three-month transition period, adding this would "reduce [the] capacity to support people".

Service users have been advised to sign up for the NHS or Patient Access app but Healthwatch Coventry has labelled that approach "not suitable for all".

The group called on the region's Integrated Care Board (ICB) to provide "clear and consistent support" to people who could not access apps to order medication.

Ruth Light, chief officer at Healthwatch Coventry, said the closure "must avoid disadvantaging local people" who had relied on phones to reorder medication or those who had family or carers who ordered on their behalf.

"People must not be left with gaps in their medication due to the transition or be unclear how to resolve any problems," she said.

A statement on the POD website said users would be contacted by their GP practice prior to the closure of the service.

This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service which covers councils and other public service organisations.