We hope you enjoyed your Bank Holiday, but with two more left in May you might want to start thinking about ordering your repeat prescriptions now to avoid running out of medication – especially if your pharmacy or GP surgery is closed or has reduced hours during those times.

The NHS is advising patients, their families and carers to check on stocks of medication to ensure they have enough to see them through the bank holiday breaks.

This year, along with the annual May Bank Holidays on 1 and 29 May, the Coronation of King Charles III means there is an additional Bank Holiday on Monday, 8 May.

Forgetting to get enough supplies of essential medication can put patients’ health at risk, and end up putting strain on out-of-hours services, which are there to deal with the most urgent health problems.

You can order repeat prescriptions in a number of ways.

• From your GP (and then nominate a pharmacy to collect them from)
• By logging into your account using the NHS app or the NHS website. If you’re asked to nominate a pharmacy, you can only nominate a high street pharmacy. You’ll be able to collect your medicine in person when it’s ready. Some high street pharmacies also deliver.