The Pharmacy

[TheOstrich]

I've just got back from the pharmacy where nothing, for a long time, has ever been straightforward. Both Mrs O and I have repeat prescriptions for oldie ailments, but of late, there has always been a "problem", like Mrs O finding that she has had a medicine missed out of her package, and in my case, the pharmacy has suddenly not been able to source a particular drug (believe it or not, an absolutely bog-standard blood pressure tablet that's been around for years) - admittedly, that problem presumably isn't their fault.

But what it means is that we then have to shuttle backwards and forwards to the surgery - was the missing drug electronically requested by the surgery or accidentally missed; can another drug be prescribed by the doctor to replace the non-available on?

Now here in Dorset there is an additional problem. The NHS Trust operates a 28 day supply only repeat medicine rule (as compared with other Trusts that allow you to have up to 3 months at a go, as was the case in Brum). To them, the idea is "less wasted medicines", but this means that the pharmacy has to make up to three times more requests for electronic prescriptions, and all us "repeaters" have to make two or three more visits to the pharmacy to pick up prescriptions than elsewhere. So as you can imagine, the pharmacy is in a constant state of meltdown - folk queuing outside the premise as times. The way they store the prescriptions awaiting collection is chaotic - they all seem to be bundled haphazardly on shelves, and it can take up to 3 or 4 minutes to find each one (as happened to me today). And you have to wait at least three working days after you've requested your repeats at the surgery before they are available for collection at the pharmacy. In contrast LloydsPharmacy in Birmingham used to turn repeat prescriptions around (in the days before all this electronic stuff) inside 1 hour.

By the time I've got one month's prescription sorted - it's time to order the next!

And the final thing - I get ushered into a side room so the pharmacy staff can "review my medicines with me" and "give me advice". Not asked if I want a consultation, note, it was taken for granted. Why? Firstly, what do I regularly go to the doctor and the diabetic nurse for? All the pharmacy are doing is unnecessarily duplicating the service given by the surgery! A waste of my time, and more crucially theirs, for what is essentially a box-ticking exercise. I did (politely) tell them that, and terminated the interview today.

Really the NHS and the pharmacies need to get their acts together on this. Does anyone else have similar problems?

[JanB]

Nothing like that Ossie.

We actually have a doctor in all pharmacies, so for minor stuff we can go and see her. Our surgery is pretty good with the repeats and we can get 3 months worth at a time. I've not tried asking for more.

Then we have nurses at the surgery who often do blood pressure/weight etc before your appointment with the doc. You just get called in

[Osc]

I find all this astonishing. When we need a prescription renewed, I phone the surgery, request it, then I get a text telling me when it is ready. I collect the prescription and bring it to the chemist to be filled......that takes 10-15 minutes max. I take a daily asprin for circulation and can only get it one month at a time, but the prescription itself lasts six months. Mind you, we pay for our medications here unless you have a medical card, for which we don't qualify.

[cruiser2]

We can order electonically. Usually only do it once a month.
Ordered an extar bottle of eye drops for mrs. e as the chemist could not get suppies. Fault at makers meant no supplies.
No problem at either surgery or chemist.

Orders at chemist seem to be in alphabetical order in drawers. There may be a queue of peolpe waiting to be served but there are plenty of staff. Usually go at lunch time when it is quiet.
Have been going to this chemist for many years. It is now run by the son of the original pharmacist.

[JoM]

I could pretty much have written that Ossie.

Where shall I start?

We're on 28 day prescriptions with our surgery yet my Dad, and his surgery is within the same trust, gets his prescriptions every 2 months.

We have an independent pharmacy attached to the surgery around the corner from our house. It couldn't be more convenient. And it used to work well, the pharmacist was great and the whole place was well organised. He sold it though and since then it's a waste of time getting a prescription sent there. Several times I've gone in, after ordering repeat prescriptions electronically, and been told that it's not been received....so I'd walk through to the receptionist who'd tell me that it had...back in the pharmacy they'd then discover it on the computer and it would've supposedly been made up....yet it wouldn't be found in the disorganised mess on the shelves and it would then be decided that it hadn't been made up after all so I'd have to wait for it to be done.

I gave up on them and switched to Boots for me and Joe. First order was spot on. The second time I left it longer than the two working days stated by the surgery for when it'd be ready to be collected and went in a week later. They couldn't find it on the shelf and their computers were down so they couldn't look on their system. My argument was that they'd had the order for a week so why hadn't the prescriptions already been made up, they advertise the fact that it's a quicker and easier way of doing it and your order would be ready when you call in yet a week later it was inaccessible on a computer. As I was leaving the shop the pharmacist ran after me and my tablets had been found on the shelf but there was no trace of Joe's yet they'd been ordered at the same time.

I decided enough was enough and since then I've been collecting prescriptions from the surgery and taking them into Tesco pharmacy when I did the shopping. The old fashioned way. That's worked well although there was a blip two weeks ago when I ordered Joe's medication, he has two items on repeat, and a couple of days later I received a call asking why I was asking for folic acid on repeat - for me. I said that I wasn't, I hadn't put in an order for myself and I don't have folic acid anyway, it was for Joe. I got the email up that I'd sent to request it and sure enough there was Joe's name, address and D.O.B yet they'd made out the prescription in my name. They said they'd get it corrected but it'd be another couple of days as a staff member would have to bring it up from the Cannock surgery to this one. When I eventually collected it they'd missed one of Joe's medications so the receptionist printed another one for the missing tablets but there wasn't anyone to sign it so I had to go back later once it had been passed by a doctor.

My parents have problems with Lloyds.

[Gal]

Shocked at the way some pharmacies run!

I am on (last count) about 8 different meds for various things, all run out/need replaced at different times, so it's up to me to keep a check on when they're due. I pass our pharmacy most days going to and from work so pop in with my last printed out drugs, where I've marked the ones I need this time. I call back two days later and they're ready and waiting. Tbf I am registered with this pharmacy, via the surgery, not sure if this makes life easier for all concerned? No need to see the GP unless I want to change the meds or if there's something else I need to see him about.

[TheOstrich]

We have an independent pharmacy attached to the surgery around the corner from our house. It couldn't be more convenient. And it used to work well, the pharmacist was great and the whole place was well organised. He sold it though and since then it's a waste of time getting a prescription sent there. Several times I've gone in, after ordering repeat prescriptions electronically, and been told that it's not been received....so I'd walk through to the receptionist who'd tell me that it had...back in the pharmacy they'd then discover it on the computer and it would've supposedly been made up....yet it wouldn't be found in the disorganised mess on the shelves and it would then be decided that it hadn't been made up after all so I'd have to wait for it to be done.

That's exactly the scenario here, Jo, an independant pharmacy over the road from the doctors' surgery. And your experiences have been identical to ours. Yes, it's within the town, convenient, and if we switched to Boots or elsewhere, it would mean a trip to neighbouring Shaftesbury, which is OK because we do go up there reasonably regularly for banking, so on - but not OK if there's a problem!

Gal, we are registered with that pharmacy, so there shouldn't in theory be any problems, but there are, and every time we've shuffled backwards and forwards between the pharmacy and the surgery trying to sort them out, we've found it's the pharmacy that's been at fault, not the doctors.

We can't be the only folk with problems because the pharmacy posted up "we won't tolerate abuse to our staff" notices during the summer.

Coming up to Christmas, they'll no doubt be putting up the "allow 4 working days rather than 3 before collecting repeat prescriptions" notices, as they did last year. But not to worry, we've both now surreptitiously accumulated a small stockpile of medicines at home to get us over all these delays.

The last couple of occasions I've been in that pharmacy, they've had "Customer Satisfaction Survey" forms out on the counter and on the chairs ...... I've firmly resisted the temptation!

[Workingman]

Weeellllll......

I used to be able to phone the pharmacy for my repeats and they would be ready the next day. Then the NHS stopped that - it was probably too efficient.

I now have to go to the surgery and either get the receptionist to print off a repeat or for me to fill in a generic one with names and doses, both go in the repeat box and they are ready in 48hrs. I usually do this two weeks in advance. I always get a text for when they are ready and if there are missing items a notification when they are available.

If items are missing I wait till they are in and go get the whole lot in one go.

[Kaz]

No problems so far, since we changed surgeries! To be fair, the only meds I need are a skin steroid, which lasts me several months, but Mick takes bp meds and statins and just drops his repeat request in, collects it a couple of days later, and gets it filled at the Sainsbury's pharmacy. D drops her requests in, and picks the meds up directly from Sainsbury's, as it gets transferred electronically.

[cromwell]

We have had similar problems but not to the same extent Os.
Surely it would be simpler for the GP prescribing medicines to also supply them?