Fears for pensioners and vulnerable as NHS moves to axe telephone prescription services

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Northerner

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New guidance from NHS England that encourages doctors’ surgeries to abandon taking repeat prescription requests by phone could leave millions of elderly and vulnerable patients without access to vital medicines.

The move, endorsed by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has been slammed by leading charities for the elderly and disabled, which claim it could lead to people becoming “seriously unwell”.

GP services across England have warned that from 1 September they will no longer accept repeat prescription requests via the phone and that patients will be asked to either order online or attend the surgery in person in order to order medication.

According to the latest data from the Office for National Statistics, of the four million adults who have never used the internet, 2.5 million are aged 75 years and over. There are also around 2.9 million disabled people without regular access to the web.

inews.co.uk

Fears for pensioners and vulnerable as NHS moves to axe telephone prescription services

Exclusive: Patients are being told they cannot order repeat prescription by phone from 1 September as Government backs digital system, which Age UK warns could lead to older people becoming "seriously unwell"
inews.co.uk inews.co.uk

Seriously, what planet do these people live on? The other day a minister said 'most people in cities outside London use their cars to get to work', and now they assume everyone has access to the internet and knows how to use it :( Completely out of touch and not able to see beyond their own privileged experience :(
 
Haven't been able to order repeats by phone here for years. For at least a few of the GP practices. Particular issue at the moment. We're getting told not to go into the surgery.
In my area you can get the pharmacy to order repeats for you. My mum managed to get her pharmacy to deliver! Some people might not want that in normal times though.
 
Same here. I was talking to my nieghbour who was just off to catch the bus to the other side of the city to collect her prescription, as her surgery no longer allow the pharmacy around the corner to fax the request through as she does not have home delivery.
 
Ralph-YK said:
Particular issue at the moment. We're getting told not to go into the surgery.
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That sums the issue up very well. Haven't enough elderly people suffered through this pandemic without making them leave their homes (particularly if self isolating or just not well enough) and go into a high risk place for catching covid19?

Ralph, my G.P too stopped telephone prescriptions years ago, but, they said it was because of data protection?
 
Amity Island said:
That sums the issue up very well. Haven't enough elderly people suffered through this pandemic without making them leave their homes (particularly if self isolating or just not well enough) and go into a high risk place for catching covid19?

Ralph, my G.P too stopped telephone prescriptions years ago, but, they said it was because of data protection?
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I thought it was to reduce the risk of errors.
 
grovesy said:
Same here. I was talking to my nieghbour who was just off to catch the bus to the other side of the city to collect her prescription, as her surgery no longer allow the pharmacy around the corner to fax the request through as she does not have home delivery.
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:confused::confused: ???? What??!!!! :confused::confused:
As far as I know, you get to choose whichever pharmacy you want! Except the occational pescription issued by the hospital, which is for their pharmacy.
 
They did that in Coventry a while ago, but the CCG now have a service they call the POD - prescription order & delivery - and that's what they do - you ring them and it's sorted. I can still order online and use my usual pharmacy though, but there again having a computer and online access it's no hassle.
 
Ralph-YK said:
:confused::confused: ???? What??!!!! :confused::confused:
As far as I know, you get to choose whichever pharmacy you want! Except the occational pescription issued by the hospital, which is for their pharmacy.
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Yeah she has been using the same Pharmacy for years. I told her I order mine online and are electronically sent to the Pharmacy. The Pharmacy is just around the corner to us. I know she uses the Internet as she uses Amazon and Online supermarket deliveries. Hopefully she is sorted.
 
grovesy said:
I thought it was to reduce the risk of errors.
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Grovesy,

Data protection was the reason I was given by the receptionist. Don't suppose it really matters now....they're going to go digital regardless. I think most will be able to have a friend to order for them, but there will be some who won't have any other means.
 
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I said with the POD it would be a retrograde step for me - cos I order mine when it happens to cross my mind so if that happens to be 9pm I then have to try and remember to do it when they're open, exactly the same as I used to have to when we had to ring the surgery .... could spend a few hours when I should have been concentrating on my paid work which involved telephone calls I couldn't make as I'd still be hanging on to get to the top of the calls waiting list at the surgery.
 
My sister told me that they now can no longer do banking on line because they do not have a smart phone. The old system was becoming - or perhaps always had been - insecure, and as their local branch had closed down, they have been having to travel into town to the main one.
Phones with apps seem to be relied on for so much these days.
 
Drummer said:
because they do not have a smart phone.
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Is that as in no internet access at all. If you have a computer & internet access you can use that for online banking (using your web browser). I used to only do it that way all the time, and still do part of the time.
 
I use online banking. Most have added an extra layer of security sending One Time Only Code via a text.
 
grovesy said:
I use online banking. Most have added an extra layer of security sending One Time Only Code via a text.
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I hate places doing that. Lots are doing it where there's no need. Google have been doing it for years.
 
I still telephone the surgery for prescriptions which the surgery still tolerates, probably because I live in an area with a higher than average rate of elderly customers. I use online banking exclusively. I do have a password, but access the App on my phone by facial recognition. Works just fine, particularly as banks now allow the paying in of cheques online. And particularly as I have to use a wheelchair.
 
How do you pay a cheque in online, don’t you actually have to physically hand the cheque in to the bank?
 
Sally71 said:
How do you pay a cheque in online, don’t you actually have to physically hand the cheque in to the bank?
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You can take a picture of the cheque with online banking, if it's under £500. All depends on which bank.
 
Wow, you learn something new every day. What do you do with the cheque after you've taken its picture, just bin it?
 
Sally71 said:
Wow, you learn something new every day. What do you do with the cheque after you've taken its picture, just bin it?
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Usually, just hang onto it until it has cleared, then you can just bin it. You need to be set up for internet banking.
 
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