In future does your surgery operate prescription requests online? I always order online and you can check whether it has been approved or not. I also always keep a 1-2 months stock of my standard stuff which I build up over the months so that if things go wrong I have a backup. I do this by pulling my prescription request forward by a couple of days each month; there's always a way! Any decent surgery will organise an emergency prescription request/approval if the need arises.