Once, when my hay fever medication was up for review, I got a nasal spray with a "medication review required before next prescription" note by it.

When I was running low, I dropped off the repeat prescription form with the tickybox tickied, that note circled and "Please review" scribbled beside it. It came back with "Reviewed — date, doctor's initials" scribbed beside that. I got my new nasal spray.

At least with my surgery, it seems that long-standing patients who are known not to be stupid can fairly easily bend the system in ways that save hassle for all concerned. After all, they don't want to give me an appointment any more than I want to turn up for one. (It doesn't help that the surgery, although within crawling distance of my house, is twenty miles from the office.)