Petition · past parliament

Challenge PATIENT CHOICE in the NHS for Dispensing Patients in Great Britain.

Rejected 21 signatures

What the petition asks

A Dickensian ruling was set in the early nineteen hundreds which stated that Doctors prescribed and Apothecaries dispensed.Doctors could only dispense to their patients if they lived more than a mile (as the crow flies) from the Apothecary due to Doctors staff not being qualified to dispense.
Now in the 21st century Doctors dispensing staff are as qualified in all aspects of dispensing and services as the Chemists.The one mile rule should now be changed to fit the NHS White Paper headed PATIENT CHOICE so that all patients in practices throughout the country have to option to choose where they would like to have their medicines dispensed.The ruling has been challenged before but never challenged for the wording of PATIENT CHOICE that the White Paper promises. We have to make a stand.

Why it was rejected

It was not clear what the petition asked the UK Government or Parliament to do.

Petitions need to call on the Government or Parliament to take a specific action.

We understand that you're concerned about the availability of dispensing services, but we're not sure exactly what you'd like the Government or Parliament to do.

You could start a new petition explaining clearly what you would like the Government or Parliament to do. For example, you could ask the Government to require GP surgeries to have facilities for dispensing medicines, so that its an option for patients, if that's what you would like to happen.

Timeline

4 Oct 2018 Petition opened for signatures
11 Oct 2018 Rejected by the Petitions Committee

Key facts

Signatures 21
Status Rejected
Rejected 11 Oct 2018

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Source: the official petition page. Last checked 15 Jul 2026.