12 Month Prescriptions

from 1 February 2026

Although it is legally possible for some medications to be prescribed for 12 months from 1 February 2026, this is not appropriate for all medicines or medical conditions.

To ensure we continue to provide safe, high-quality care, any extension of prescription duration must be discussed at a review appointment with your GP. At this appointment, your GP can assess whether a longer prescription is suitable based on your medications and overall health.

Until this review takes place, prescriptions will continue to be issued at three-monthly intervals. Please book an appointment with your usual GP if you would like to discuss this further.

Don’t leave making this appointment to close to your medication running out.

If you are eligible, most prescriptions will still be dispensed every three months, and all repeats must be collected from the same pharmacy.

ADHD medicines and strong pain relievers:

The rules for controlled drugs like strong pain relievers and ADHD medicines are not changing.

New ADHD diagnosis and medication assessments for adults:

Currently we do not have anyone at DNMC doing these assessments.  However, there are several psychologists in the community who can do ADHD assessments.  These take a long time and are still very costly, but also often provide helpful information separate to a diagnosis.

New from February 2026, if a psychologist trained in ADHD assessment has diagnosed an adult with ADHD, and provided us with a report, our GPs can discuss with you at a consultation, and, if it is medically safe to do so, initiate medication for ADHD following this.