Repeat dispensing allows prescribers to issue a batch of prescriptions for a medication which needs to be taken by the patient regularly. This allows the pharmacy to dispense your prescription at regular intervals for the number of batch prescriptions provided by the prescriber. An NHS repeatable prescription needs to be dispensed for the first time within six months of being written and can then only be dispensed subsequently for up to a year from being written or until any expiry date specified by the prescriber, whichever is less.