Exciting Announcement!

We are pleased to announce that Hadleigh Health Centre has now installed a prescription collection machine for our Dispensing population.

This facility will be available for our dispensing patients to use that usually collect their repeat prescription from the Health Centre Dispensary and to dispensing patients that used to collect their prescriptions from the Mill Surgery in Boxford. This is not an obligatory service that all our dispensing patients must use but an option for patients to use to make the collection of your repeat prescription easier, while also having access to prescription collection outside of working hours. The machine is situated in the practice car park, adjacent to the building near the main entrance.

Due to certain restrictions, some of our dispensing patients will be unable to use this service:

1. The size of the bag containing your repeat medication. We cannot load any carrier bags into the machine, so these will have to be collected from our dispensary as usual. Our dispensary staff will be able to advise you on this. 
2. Patients that are prescribed controlled drugs.
3. Patients that are prescribed a fridge line. 
4. Maximum capacity of the machine. 

For patients that are currently eligible to use the machine, if you would like to use our collection machine, please pick up a sign-up form from our dispensay when you collect your next prescription. When your prescription is ready to collect, you will receive a text message when your prescription has been loaded into the machine asking you to either confirm your exemption status (as when signing the back of your prescription when collecting) or whether you usually pay for your prescription. If you pay for you prescription, there will be a payment link provided. Once you have either declared your exemption or paid for you prescription a PIN number will provided to you via text message, allowing secure collection.

It is very important to note that dispensing patients on our managed repeat/diary system are to be advised that if you wish to use the collection machine, you must tick and return your repeat slip which will be INSIDE your bag when you collect. Please remove this from the bag, tick the items required for next month (pen provided at the machine) and post this into the post box provided at the collection machine. Failure to do this will mean your next prescription will not be issued, dispensed and loaded into the machine next month.

This process does not apply to patients that request their own prescription – please continue to request your prescription as you usually would i.e. via email, NHS app, paper repeat etc. Our dispensary staff will talk you through the process when you sign up to use this new collection service. The machine will be accessible to collect your prescription 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

We are excited to be able to provide this innovative new service to our patients. please do let us know if any issues arise when using the collection machine. All feedback will be used to help ensure this new collection process is as smooth and beneficial to our patients as possible.

Please note, if you sign up to use the collection machine, you must declare accurately whether you pay for your prescriptions or declare your exemption, just as you would when collecting your prescription from the dispensary. A false declaration may result in you paying a fine from the prescription authority.  

Published: Jul 16, 2025