Our NHS services
MediHealth Direct is an NHS distance selling pharmacy based in Nottingham. We provide NHS pharmaceutical services to people anywhere in England by post, phone and video rather than over a counter. This page sets out what we provide under the NHS, how to use each service and what to do when we are closed.
Open to anyone in England
If you are registered with a GP practice in England you can nominate us for your NHS prescriptions, wherever you live.
Delivery is free by law
A distance selling pharmacy may not charge for delivering NHS prescriptions, so there is never a delivery fee on an NHS item.
Everything is remote
We do not provide NHS services face to face at our premises. You reach us by phone, secure message and video, and medicines come by tracked post.
What every NHS pharmacy provides
Essential services
Every NHS community pharmacy in England provides these services. Here is how each one works when your pharmacy is online.
Dispensing NHS prescriptions
Your GP sends prescriptions to us electronically once you have nominated us. Our pharmacists check each one for safety and interactions, dispense it with the manufacturer's leaflet, and post it with free tracked delivery. We send you updates as it is prepared and dispatched.
Repeat dispensing (eRD)
If you take regular medicines that do not change, your GP can authorise up to 12 months of repeats in one go through electronic repeat dispensing. We then issue each batch when it is due, so there is nothing to order. Ask your GP practice or us whether it would suit you.
Disposal of unwanted medicines
Any community pharmacy in England will take back unwanted or out-of-date medicines for safe disposal, free of charge, so the nearest high-street pharmacy is usually the easiest option. As an online pharmacy we cannot accept returns at a counter; please do not post medicines to us unless we have asked you to and arranged it. If you are unsure, call us and we will advise.
Healthy living advice
Free advice on stopping smoking, drinking less, eating well, moving more, weight, blood pressure, diabetes risk, mental wellbeing and sexual health, with quick self-checks and the NHS resources that go with them.
Signposting
If what you need is better provided elsewhere, we tell you where: your GP, NHS 111, a sexual health clinic, a local pharmacy for an in-person service, or a support organisation. We will put it in writing if that helps.
Support for self-care
Advice on managing minor illnesses and long-term conditions yourself, including which pharmacy medicines are suitable alongside anything you already take. Our pharmacists are available by phone and message throughout opening hours.
Discharge Medicines Service
If a hospital refers you to us when you leave, we compare your new medicines with what you were taking before, sort out any changes with your GP, and talk them through with you so nothing is missed.
Services we have chosen to provide
Advanced services
Advanced services are NHS services a pharmacy chooses to provide on top of the Essential ones. We provide three, all remotely: Pharmacy First by video, the New Medicine Service, and the NHS contraception service for the pill.
NHS Pharmacy First by video
Our pharmacists assess and, where appropriate, treat six common conditions under the NHS Pharmacy First service, by video consultation and at no cost. Answer a short symptom check, book a slot, and any treatment is posted to you.
Start a Pharmacy First checkProvided by video from our pharmacy
- Acute sinusitis (aged 12 and over)
- Sore throat (aged 5 and over)
- Infected insect bites (aged 1 and over)
- Impetigo (aged 1 and over)
- Shingles (adults aged 18 and over)
- Uncomplicated urinary tract infection (women aged 16 to 64)
Earache in children and young people needs a pharmacist to look inside the ear, so that part of Pharmacy First is provided by local pharmacies rather than online.
New Medicine Service
If you have just been prescribed a new medicine for a long-term condition, such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, type 2 diabetes, asthma or COPD, depression, epilepsy, osteoporosis or a heart condition, our pharmacist supports you through the first weeks of taking it. You have three conversations by phone or video: when the medicine is first dispensed, one to two weeks later to see how you are getting on, and a follow-up a few weeks after that. We help with side effects and practical problems, and can refer back to your GP. It is free; ask for it when your prescription arrives, or your GP can refer you.
NHS contraception service
You can start the contraceptive pill, restart it after a break, or get an ongoing supply from us without a GP appointment, free of charge, as all NHS contraception is. A pharmacist talks through your health and options with you in private by phone or video; for the combined pill we also need your height, weight and a recent blood pressure reading, which can come from a home monitor, your GP practice or a local pharmacy. The pill is then posted to you, and we tell your GP only if you agree. Emergency contraception works best the sooner it is taken, so for that go the same day to a local pharmacy, sexual health clinic or your GP.
Paying for prescriptions
Prescription charges and exemptions
NHS prescription charges are the same at every pharmacy in England, and delivery from us never adds to them.
The charge
A single charge applies to each item unless you are exempt. The amount is set by the government each April; the NHS website shows the current figure.
Who pays nothing
People under 16, 16 to 18 in full-time education, 60 and over, pregnant women and new mothers with a valid maternity exemption certificate, holders of a valid medical exemption or HC2 certificate, and people on certain benefits, among others.
Exemptions are checked
We are required to record the basis of every exemption claim, and the NHS Business Services Authority checks claims afterwards. A claim that cannot be backed up can lead to a penalty charge, so tell us when a certificate expires or your circumstances change.
Prepayment certificates
If you pay for more than one item a month, a prescription prepayment certificate (PPC) usually works out cheaper; you can buy one online for 3 or 12 months and pay by direct debit.
Opening hours
Call 0115 990 1203 during these hours, or send a message at any time.
When we are closed
You need a medicine urgently
Call NHS 111 or use 111 online. If you have run out of a regular medicine, 111 can arrange an emergency supply through a pharmacy near you, and your GP practice can send an urgent prescription to a local pharmacy.
You need advice
NHS 111 is open 24 hours a day for urgent health advice. Many high-street pharmacies open late and at weekends; the NHS pharmacy finder shows the nearest one that is open.
It is an emergency
Call 999 or go to your nearest emergency department for chest pain, breathing difficulty, signs of a stroke, severe bleeding or a severe allergic reaction.
Using our NHS services
Your rights, feedback and respect
The NHS Constitution
It sets out what you are entitled to from any NHS service, including ours: dignity, confidentiality, choice of pharmacy and a right to complain and be listened to.
Raising a concern
Tell us first and we will investigate and reply in writing. You can also complain to NHS England, and the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman can review a complaint we could not resolve.
Respect for our team
We treat everyone who contacts us with courtesy and ask the same in return. Abusive, threatening or discriminatory behaviour towards our staff is not tolerated and may mean we can no longer provide services to that person.
Your information
NHS prescription information is handled under NHS rules and our privacy policy, and is never used for marketing without your separate consent.
Common questions
- I don't live near Nottingham. Can I still use you?
- Yes. Being a distance selling pharmacy means we serve the whole of England by post, so it makes no difference where you live, as long as your GP practice is in England.
- Can I collect my prescription from your pharmacy?
- No. Our NHS terms of service mean every service is provided remotely, so NHS prescriptions are always delivered. If you need something the same day, ask your GP to send that prescription to a pharmacy near you instead.
- Is there really no charge for delivery?
- There is no delivery charge on NHS prescriptions. The law does not allow a distance selling pharmacy to charge for it, so it is not something that could be withdrawn later.
- How do I move my prescriptions to you, or back again?
- Nominate us using the short online form and we tell your current pharmacy. You can change your nomination at any time by asking any pharmacy or your GP practice; there is no contract. Nominate us.
- Can I get the contraceptive pill from you without a prescription?
- Yes, under the NHS Pharmacy Contraception Service. After a confidential conversation with our pharmacist by phone or video, we can supply the combined or progestogen-only pill whether you are starting it, restarting it or continuing it, and we tell your GP only if you agree. It is free, as all NHS contraception is. If your GP already prescribes your pill and we are your nominated pharmacy, nothing changes: we dispense it as usual.
- Do you provide other NHS services, such as flu vaccination or blood pressure checks?
- Under the NHS we provide what is on this page: the Essential services, Pharmacy First by video, the New Medicine Service and the contraceptive pill service, all remotely. Services that need you to be in the room, such as vaccinations and blood pressure checks, are provided by local pharmacies and your GP practice, and the NHS website lists those near you. Any in-person service we offer at our premises is private and separate from our NHS work. Find a local pharmacy.
- Why might I receive slightly more or fewer tablets than prescribed?
- Since January 2025, NHS rules in England let a pharmacist supply up to 10% more or less than the quantity prescribed when that means you receive the manufacturer's original pack with its information leaflet. The pharmacist decides case by case, and it is never used where the exact course matters, such as antibiotics, or for controlled drugs.
