NHS App prevents parents ordering vital medications

2 mins read

Monday 11 August 2025

A parent is calling on NHS England to revise a policy that bars parents from ordering vital medication for their child when they turn 11 years old.

Under the policy, the NHS App automatically uncouples the parent from their child’s records at this age. Parents must contact the GP surgery so their child can give consent for their parent’s access to continue. This allows parent to make appointments and order medication on their child’s behalf beyond age 11 via the App.

Depending on the GP practice policy, this can be done via a form or email or visit to the surgery. We know of many parent cares resorting to arranging their child’s prescription by paper order forms.

“Another hoop to jump through”

Parent carer Laura Siveter has now launched her petition calling for a policy change. The NHS App prevented her from ordering vital epilepsy medication for her 11-year-old son, who has learning difficulties. More than 35 parents on in the Contact Facebook group shared similar stories or were unaware of the policy.

Contact’s health lead Amanda Elliot said:

“For parents of young people with a health condition or disability, getting medication on time is critical. This is another hoop to jump through when they are already under enormous pressure.

We have asked the NHS to ensure it communicates with families well in advance of the NHS App cutting off access to their child’s record. It should explain clearly what families need to do to continue access.

After hearing from us parent’s feedback, NHS England have said they will work with the NHS App team to address these concerns and improve communication and and guidance.

Our advice to parents

We recommend that parents required to attend their GP surgery to organise proxy consent should also request the practice applies a Reasonable Adjustments Flag to their disabled child’s record. This will flag to GPs their status as their child’s carer.

You can also ask for the practice to add your child to the learning disability register (at any age). This will ensure they are automatically invited for annual health checks from age 14.

Image credit: “NHS symptom checker on Apple App Store on iPhone 6” by Create Health, CC BY 2.0