SEVERAL years ago I could ring my surgery for a repeat prescription, I could collect it in a day or two and present it to the chemist for dispensing on the way home.

Just one phone call and one trip to the surgery and chemist. Pretty efficient, don't you think?

Nowadays I have to tick all the medicines that I require on the prescription counterfoil and take it to the surgery. I have to call back to collect the prescription in a couple of days and take it to the chemist on the way home.

Thus I have exchanged one trip for two. My prescription that used to be just one small piece of paper is now twice the size and to make matters even worse I get two pieces of paper that contain all the medications that I have had previously whether I want them or not.

My original piece of paper has increased four fold.

Well done the NHS, you have doubled the pollution that my car generates and I am using four bits of paper instead of just one.

How many extra trees is that? How much extra energy has been needed to produce the extra paper just to have most of it thrown away?

Just to add insult to injury I went make an appointment for my flu job and at the same time I explained that I had lost the prescription counterfoils so could I order a repeat prescription.

NO! When I go for the jab I will get specially printed replacement counterfoils to fill in and then give them back to collect the prescription in a couple of days or so.

Has the NHS world gone completely mad? Do they not care about global warming?

J BUCKLEY (Mr), Holden Fold, Darwen.