Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee

Valid Prescription Forms

The following prescription forms can be dispensed by NHS pharmacy contractors in England & Wales:

Forms Originating in England

Prescription Form Identifier	Colour	Notes
FP10 FP10NC FP10HNC FP10SS	Green	These FP10 Prescriptions may be issued by GPs or nurse and pharmacist prescribers, hospital doctors, supplementary prescribers or out of hours centres if correctly annotated. Forms annotated with the initials RD are repeat dispensing forms. Forms annotated with the initials RA are repeat authorisation forms.
FP10MDA FP10MDA-S FP10HMDA-S FP10MDA-SS FP10MDA-SP	Blue	Instalment dispensing prescription form. More information is available on the (FP10MDA Section of this site)
FP10P FP10PN (Practice Nurse) FP10CN (Community Nurse) FP10SP (Supplementary prescriber)	Lilac	Forms used by nurse and pharmacist prescribers and supplementary prescribers. The form should be printed with information to identify the type of prescriber, for example, community practitioner nurse prescriber (formerly known as district nurse/health visitors), nurse independent prescriber or supplementary prescribers.
FP10D	Yellow	Forms issued by dentists in primary care. Only items listed in the dental formulary can be prescribed on this prescription.

Forms Originating in Wales

Prescription Form Identifier	Colour	Notes
WP10 WP10SS WP10SP WP10HP WP10HSP	Green	Issued by GPs, hospitals and supplementary prescribers.
WP10D	Green	Issued by dentists in primary care. Only items listed in the dental formulary can be prescribed on this prescription
WP10CN WP10PN	Green	Forms issued by nurse prescribers.
WP10MDA	Green	Instalment dispensing prescription form. More information is available on the (FP10MDA Section of this site)

Forms Originating from Scotland

Prescription Form Identifier	Colour	Notes
GP10 GP10SS	Orange	Issued by GPs.
GP10(N)	Purple	Issued by nurse prescribers.
GP14	Yellow	Issued by dentists.
HBP	Blue	Issued in secondary care.
HBP(A)	Pink	Instalment dispensing prescription for drug addicts.

Forms Originating in Northern Ireland

Prescription Form Identifier	Colour	Notes
HS21 HS21CS	Green	Issued by GPs.
HS21D	Yellow	Issued by Dentists.
HS21M	Grey	Issued by Supplementary Prescribers.
HS21N	Purple	Issued by nurse prescribers

Forms Originating in the Isle of Man

Prescription Form Identifier	Colour	Notes
HS10	Pink	Issues by GPs, dentists and hospital prescribers.
HS10MDA	Blue	Instalment dispensing form
HS10	Green (handwritten) Pink (computer generated)	Issued by nursed prescribers
HS10	Pink	Issued by dental prescribers
HS10	Purple	Issued by pharmacy prescribers
HS10SS	Pink	Issued by hospital prescribers

Pharmacy contractors will not be reimbursed by the NHS for dispensing the following prescription forms:

Prescription Form Identifier	Colour	Issued In	Notes
FMed296	White	England	Issued to service personnel (army).
FP10P-Rec	Lilac	England	Used by out of hours centres.
GP10A	White	Scotland	GP stock order form
GP10DTS	Pink	Scotland	Drug Testing Scheme
HS21S	White	Northern Ireland	GP stock order form.
PS6	Yellow / White	Guernsey	Issued by primary care prescribers.
H9	Yellow / White	Jersey	Issued by primary care prescribers.

Private Prescribing

Prescription Form Identifier	Colour	Issued In	Notes
FP10PCD-SS FP10PCD-NC	Pink	England	Private prescription form issued for Schedule 2 & 3 Controlled Drugs (these prescriptions will not be passed for payment by the NHS Prescription Services). More information is available in the (Controlled Drug Guidance) section of this site.
WP10PCD WP10PCDSS	Green	Wales	The form should be printed with information to indicate the type of private prescriber, for example, private doctor, nurse, pharmacist, optometrist, physiotherapist, radiographer or podiatrist.
PPCD(1)	Beige / Buff	Scotland	Copies of these forms should be sent to the NHSBSA each month for information purposes and not for reimbursement.

Bulk Prescriptions
A separate prescription form should be issued for each individual patient; the only exception to this is ‘bulk prescriptions’. Part VIII, Notes, Paragraph 9 of the Drug Tariff outlines the arrangements for bulk prescriptions. A bulk prescription is an order for two or more patients, bearing the name of a school or institution in which at least 20 persons normally reside, for the treatment of at least 10 of whom a particular doctor is responsible. Prescription only medicines can not be prescribed on bulk prescriptions and the only appliances that can be prescribed are prescribable dressings which do not contain POMs. No prescription charge is payable when a bulk prescription is dispensed. FAQ. There has been an outbreak of scabies within a family. Rather than issuing one prescription per family member, the prescriber has ordered sufficient quantity of ‘Permethrin 5% cream’ on one prescription to cover the whole family. Is this allowed? No. The National Health Service (General Medical Services Contracts) Regulations 2004 require that prescribers issue a separate prescription form or repeatable prescription for each individual patient. The only exception to this rule is where the prescriber is responsible under their GMS contract for the treatment of 10 or more persons in a school or other institution in which at least 20 persons normally reside; and where the prescriber needs to prescribe for two or more of those persons for whose treatment the contractor is responsible. The prescription should bear the name of the school of institution concerned. More information about bulk prescriptions can be found in Part VIII Paragraph 8 of the Drug Tariff. A key point to note is that bulk prescriptions can only be issued for prescribable dressings and for medicines which are not classified as prescription only medicines.

Bulk Prescriptions

A separate prescription form should be issued for each individual patient; the only exception to this is ‘bulk prescriptions’. Part VIII, Notes, Paragraph 9 of the Drug Tariff outlines the arrangements for bulk prescriptions. A bulk prescription is an order for two or more patients, bearing the name of a school or institution in which at least 20 persons normally reside, for the treatment of at least 10 of whom a particular doctor is responsible. Prescription only medicines can not be prescribed on bulk prescriptions and the only appliances that can be prescribed are prescribable dressings which do not contain POMs. No prescription charge is payable when a bulk prescription is dispensed.

FAQ. There has been an outbreak of scabies within a family. Rather than issuing one prescription per family member, the prescriber has ordered sufficient quantity of ‘Permethrin 5% cream’ on one prescription to cover the whole family. Is this allowed?

No. The National Health Service (General Medical Services Contracts) Regulations 2004 require that prescribers issue a separate prescription form or repeatable prescription for each individual patient. The only exception to this rule is where the prescriber is responsible under their GMS contract for the treatment of 10 or more persons in a school or other institution in which at least 20 persons normally reside; and where the prescriber needs to prescribe for two or more of those persons for whose treatment the contractor is responsible. The prescription should bear the name of the school of institution concerned. More information about bulk prescriptions can be found in Part VIII Paragraph 8 of the Drug Tariff. A key point to note is that bulk prescriptions can only be issued for prescribable dressings and for medicines which are not classified as prescription only medicines.

Bar Coded Prescriptions

During Release 1 of the Electronic Prescription Service in England, the paper FP10 prescription continues to act as the legal prescription and must always be signed by a prescriber. ETP enabled GP Systems are able to send prescription details electronically to the spine and print a barcode onto an ordinary FP10 prescription. The barcode links the FP10 to the unique prescription message held in the prescription database on the spine. An ETP enabled pharmacy, can then scan the barcode to download the electronic message, auto populating the pharmacy system with the patient’s prescription details.

During Release 1, prescriptions should be dispensed as now against the paper FP10 prescription and be submitted to the NHS Prescription Services for payment as normal. As payment for all prescriptions during Release 1 is based on the paper prescriptions submitted to the NHSBSA Prescription Pricing Division, there is no need to tick the ‘ETP Tokens for non-payment’ box on the FP34C Submission Form at this time.

During later releases of the service, there will also be occasions where prescriptions can be sent electronically to the NHS Prescription Services for reimbursement. Detailed guidance on this will be published at a later date.

More Information

Prescription Form Section of the NHS Prescription Services Website

Prescription Form Section of the DH Website

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