Supporting individuals being released early from prison
Written by AlisonFreemantle on Friday 6th September 2024
10th September and 22nd October
Your support is needed to ensure the continuity of care for individuals who will be released from prison as part of a Ministry of Justice measure to help relieve prison capacity pressures.
Those eligible for this initiative will be released from prisons across England on 10 September 2024 and 22 October 2024.
Medicines supply on release
Prison medical services will have provided 28 days of medicines on discharge to allow time for primary care prescribers and patients to access the next supply.
For opioid substitution therapy (OST), prison medical services will have provided a prescription (FP10/FP10MDA) for up to 14 days or a short-term interim supply as per local arrangements. This action will be taken as part of the continuity of substance misuse treatment.
ACTION: If you currently have OST patients from either Inclusion or CGL, they may be in touch depending on where individuals released are located.
Ongoing medicines supply and walk-ins:
For urgent medicines that have previously been prescribed as repeat prescriptions, individuals can access these by calling NHS 111.
Pharmacy First Service:
- patients can access Pharmacy First clinical pathways
- patients can contact 111 or access 111 online to be referred to a pharmacy that provides the full range of Pharmacy First services
NHS Pharmacy Contraception Service:
- for women being released from prison, the NHS Pharmacy Contraception Service provides an accessible and convenient place to receive advice and support for contraception management
- individuals do not need to be registered with a GP to access this service,
Electronic Prescription Services:
- EPS is being rolled out across the detained estate and contractors may see an increase in the presentation of non-nominated EPS prescription barcodes and/or FP10MDAs issued on discharge. These prescriptions will carry the following information on the front of the form:
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- the letters ‘HMP’
- prison name and address
- prison telephone switchboard number
- prescribing code
- Patients presenting these prescriptions are exempt from prescription charges