Changes to Prescription Length From February 2026

From 1^st February 2026 some medications can be prescribed for up to 12 months.  This is to improve access to medicines for people with stable, long-term conditions. 

GPs can use discretion in terms of prescribing length and are not obliged to do 12 month prescriptions.  For example, certain conditions that are stable and require less frequent monitoring such as hypothyroidism may have a 12 month prescription and other conditions such as diabetes and high blood pressure that require more regular monitoring may have a 3 or 6 month prescription, also dependant on the patient’s age and other medical conditions. 

Medications can only be dispensed from pharmacies for up to 3 months and repeats will need to be collected from the same pharmacy, with the exception being the oral contraceptive pill which can still be dispensed for 6 months. 

This change to prescribing does not include controlled drugs such as ADHD medications, opioids and some sleeping tablets.