monthly prescriptions (1 Viewer)

[happytraveller123]

thinking of longterming for a few years possibly 9 months a year. i will keep my home in the uk [rented out] and i will be paying uk income tax on the proceeds . i am below retirement age but i am entitled to free prescriptions because i have been diagnosed with a chronic illness which will require monthly collections of medicine for the rest of my life. can anyone tell me would this still apply in europe ? what do others do ? as i am sure i wont be the only person in this position . uptill this happening i have worked all my life and never claimed a single state benefit . any info or similar experiences would be greatly appreciated . ps i know this is a fulltiming forum but i just thought members on here might be in the best position to answer as they have possibly had to deal with a similar situation before they left the uk for good ! thank you .

 

[savantuk]

Hello,

I am a disabled diabetic with heart disease, and yes, I do have problems getting travel insurance:Angry: I digress however.....

I am able to get 4 months supply of my medication at a time to take abroad with me, but no longer than that. As far as getting supplies in the EU, I really don't know what you could do. I know for a fact that German and French chemists will not accept UK prescriptions, and as far as my doctor is aware, there is no reciprocal agreement with other EU nations to offer free prescriptions to UK patients.

I ran out of Metformin (a diabetic drug) a couple of years ago, and I had to see a Dr in Germany to get s script. The doctors fees were free, but a weeks prescription was £30!!

Good luck.

 

[caz]

Hi
Have been fulltiming for a few years now. Whilst in France, we visit the local GP and get a prescription from them. We then have to pay for our prescription drugs and can claim some or all of the money back - only problem is I havent found out where I have to send the forms. - Each time we go to the chemist, they give us a form to claim the money back.

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[lebesset]

caz , in the main town of each departement in france is a CPAM office

photocopy of your EHIC , fill in the doctors form and the pharmacies , send to them and you will get a cheque for part of the charges sent to your uk address in time

best way is to go to the office first time , then you will see exactly what is needed

 

[nomadic]

Hi Happytraveller123

We hope you are able to make it work for you, and good luck.

Just beware, any absence from the UK, over six months, and any investment income will be liable to uk tax, AND the country you are visiting, and we pay enough in direct and indirect taxes. (Revenue and Customs have EU arrangements in place keeping each informed were we are!!!)

You could find travel insurance also limits your duration to 91 days, unless you opt for a long stay policy, which is (I think) for a single country, as said, not sure on this point.

Also, talk to your GP re the maximum amount of perscriptions HE/SHE can issue you with, especially if you have a good understanding with him/her...that could help form your plan.

Good luck with your plans, and enjoy.


Nomadic:thumb:

 

[johnnerontheroad]

I don't know about monthly perscriptions but travel insurane these may help got a good quote for my other half https://www.allcleartravel.co.uk/cgi-bin/lansaweb?procfun+msdweb01+msdw009+alc

Dave

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[John & Joan]

PRESCRIPTIONS
We wrote to our Practice manager last year and arranged for a 6 month prescription. Getting the doctor to agree was another matter but in the end we both got prescriptions for 6 months. September to March

I normally get 3 months on prescription but Joan only gets 2 months. We are still trying to sort this out.

At present you need an address within the practice area but the government has announced that this will no longer be the case. We use a nephews address for this.

INSURANCE
We are with Comfort Insurance on a Full Time Policy which allows up 6 months total stay in any one country in a 12 month period. We do not need to return to the UK at any set time intervals.

The insurance also require a UK address and that the vehicle and drivers licences are registered at that address

MOTs however dictate that we return to the UK for them as it would breach the law in the country we are in and invalidate our insurance without it. SORN does not apply if the vehicle is in use anywhere.

 

[teensvan]

Hi.

We have fulltimed for 5 years and when in the uk try and build up a stock of medication for a few months. We then get the son to pick up the repeat prescriptions while we are out of the UK. When we are on one site for a couple of months we get the son to send them to us. This was worked well for us.

steve & ann -------------- teensvan

 

[lebesset]

presuming you are still ordinarily resident in the uk and paying tax on your world wide income you are entitled to benefits
our doctor will give maximum 4 months prescription
you may not have noticed but more and more pharmacies will pick up repeat prescriptions from the doctors and dispense them for you
so our system is as follows

we Email our doctor for the repeat prescription on the NHS Email service [ our doctor has a dedicated address ], asking for it to be made available to the pharmacy of our choice [ you will soon find out which pharmacies collect from your doctor , ask the receptionist ]

we Email the pharmacy with the address to post it to , they collect /dispense / dispatch

voila

of course you need to discuss this carefully with the pharmacist him/herself , taking the first prescriptions along personally ; they are prudent people and will want to be certain all is above board ; also go for a chat each time you visit the doctor's and take the prescription personally

oh, postage ...I estimate that our pharmacist is making £500 /year from this business , she can well afford to pay it herself , and is happy to do so

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[Snowbird]

Hi,my doctor used to give me 6 monthly prescriptions,but about 2 years ago he said there had been some sort of change in the system,so now I only get 3 monthly prescriptions.
I try to time my trips around these,but if am away longer ie Spain for the winter,I book cheap flights back to the UK. If you book well in advance you can get some very cheap flights.
I find its not a problem as it gives me chance to check my home and post.
Also of course the government dont like you being away from the UK for spells longer than 3 months.

 

[Bulletguy]

PRESCRIPTIONS
We wrote to our Practice manager last year and arranged for a 6 month prescription. Getting the doctor to agree was another matter but in the end we both got prescriptions for 6 months. September to March

I normally get 3 months on prescription but Joan only gets 2 months. We are still trying to sort this out.

Apparently it seems six months is now normal practice with most GP's openly encouraging patients to relieve them of the job of having to attend to repeat prescriptions every month. After all, it does make sense to have them at the Pharmacy leaving GP's to get on with what they are supposed to be doing.

I have regular medication requiring repeat prescriptions and have been issued with six months, but I cannot draw the lot out in one go, I have to go to the Pharmacy each month. I think it may be possible (depending on the nature of the medication) to draw a bulk supply, but imagine this would only be with agreement by both GP and Pharmacist.

 

[Bouncer123]

Sending prescriptions

Hi, Teensvan. Regarding your last post, to where do you get your son to send on your filled prescriptions. I will be getting my daughter to collect prescription for me and fill at our usual pharmacy and then send to me, hopefully in Europe. Is it still possible to send 'Poste Restante' to post offices in places where you intend to be. Do you have any advice as to this procedure, e.g. best way to address mail, time span before picking up etc. Many thanks, Bouncer Babe x:thumb:

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[bambi 2]

We have just paid over 50 euros in a pharmacy in Spain, we just took our empty pill cartons into the pharmacy and collected 3 months of tablets each, we have done this for years with no problems, our doctor here in france will make a prescription for 6 months, but the pharmacy will only give us one month at a time.:Angry: bambi 2