Little pharmacy gripe

[Copepod]

Another recommendation to threaten to leave and find an alternative pharmacy if service is inadequate.

The only time I used the chemist nearest to my GP, they ticked the box to say I was on income support (instead of medical exemption), so a few months later, the revenue protection section of DoH wrote to me, asking me to prove that I was entitled to free prescriptions - I sent a photocopy of my Medical Exemption Card.

Then I wrote to pharmacist, reporting that the ineptitude of one of the staff had resulted in me being investigated for fraud, and thus I would never use that pharmacy again. Pharmacist wrote to apologise, but I have kept my word and ever since I have used another pharmacy, which is actually nearer my home.

 

[cherrypie]

I always ask if they have got the items before I leave my prescription.

 

[PhilT]

I had a little triumph at a Tesco Pharmacy today ( not my usual very reliable one).
Went to buy an extra pot of Aviva test strips like I do every three months or so.
Lady on the counter looked it up in the book and says "Oh dear, its ?27 a tub".
Well I know from previous experience that these books they work from seem to be split into Wholesale and Retail sections so I said to her, "What does it say in the Accuchek section at the front of the book ?" (i.e wholseale prices that the Pharmacy buys them for )
She found it and said "Ah, its only ?15.58 here".
Thanks I said, paid the 15 quid and legged it.

Why are you paying for test strips when you are on insulin? You should be getting them on your prescription.

 

[mcdonagh47]

Why are you paying for test strips when you are on insulin? You should be getting them on your prescription.

LOL - I've been getting strips on prescription for 19 years (Yes I was dxed back in the days when T2s got a rollicking for Not testing!)
I get 100 every six weeks at the moment, which was questioned once, so I top up very occasionally if the price is right so as not to upset that balance.

-------------------------------------------
"Gold spent on health us never wasted" Francis Bacon.

 

[trophywench]

Very wise, McD, actually.

Even though I don't have THAT much trouble (although I'm apparently only supposed to get 100 on repeat - pathetic and unneccesary! - I do get 150 but can order at will so dunno why they even bother arguing in the first place really) I had a windfall of 2 boxes from Roche when I had multiple failures with one pot of them last year, think they only meant to send me one but I wasn't going to argue! and I'm rotating them, but keeping them stashed in case of emergency. When we go on hols - usually for 3 or more weeks about twice or three times a year - it's tedious having to persuade them to give me a double prescription.

When I go to Oz for a month or more next year they'll wonder what hit them ....

Esp when the advice on Meds is 'to take twice as much with you, as you think you will need' 😱

 

[Copepod]

When you go to Australia, you'll be expected to use Medicare for "urgent or immediate medical treatment" but not "routine monitoring of pre-existing conditions", so it's a bit unclear whether or not blood glucose test strips are inlcuded or not!

see http://www.nhs.uk/NHSEngland/Health...e/NonEEAcountries/Pages/Non-EEAcountries.aspx

Worth ensuring you have the documents needed in case you need to use Medicare, as well as insurance.

 

[RachelT]

a little voice from the other side of the counter

I am not going to apologise, ok, the nice lady in Boots has been very helpful to me of late but they still owe me a weeks worth of sarnies for the amount of complaint handling i do for them....(joke)

Is anyone aware of a supply problem with NovoNordisk? I think even we ran out of novorapid or levemir recently (luckily just about every ward in the hospital has a stockpile). It's a useful thing to ask, since nothing anybody takes for diabetes (especially not Novorapid....blimey!) is unlikely to be rare or obscure (i could be wrong but if you do, you know more about it than me and probably your pharmacist). We all get supply problems, and if it's any consolation there's probably a person at the end of the phone at the wholesalers getting grief from you pharmacy team.

Pharmacy staff are all trained, one way or another (yes, it is Tuesday and thus i feel like a trained monkey myself, but a trained monkey, mark you., however they're not nessasarily trained in a)customer service or b) stock management or even c) have any common sense. Plus we all get a bit distracted by long hours and stress, and if community is anything like my hospital at the moment, there's A LOT of that going around.

Of course if you have repeated problems with your local pharmacy and or suspect your friendly neighbourhood pharmacist is a muppet, you can complain. The General Pharmaceutical Council have a complaints section on their website or you could go through to head office if you use a chain. Even small dispensing errors need to be reported to a) make sure they don't end up on your record and b) make the staff aware that they're happening so that they can try not to make them again. if the problem is small and no harm is done then nobody should get into any trouble, it happens to all of us.

I am vaguely aware, through reading second hand trade press magasines, that there is a big problem with the community pharmacy supply chain at the moment, but as i don't work in purchasing or community i'm not sure of the details, but i believe it's been mentioned in parliment. Be patient if you can, folks, i know nobody likes to be messed around (and i've been messed around enough myself, you're right Northy, it is easier to request your own prescriptions and walk them round to the pharmacy yourself...) and if all else fails i find bursting into tears and having your mum glare at them helps....

Rachel

 

[Northerner]

That's interesting about the potential supply problems Rachel. I guess that I think of everything that I get as pretty common, so it never really enters my mind. But logically, common items will be in greatest demand, so if something goes wrong somewhere it can have a big knock-on effect.

I do think of you when I am dealing with the staff though Rachel, so I'm always polite! My pharmacist is actually a very nice lady who turned things around after a very bad period of temporary pharmacists where absolutely nothing went right!

 

[RachelT]

I'm sure you're always polite Northy 🙂, i didn't mean to imply you weren't. You're welcome at mine anytime you like (as long as it's before 6), but i know it's a long way and we don't do outside prescriptions, or stock needles.

I have to say i do find some of the things in community totally baffling, (like how can you run out of Novorapid? But that baffles me in hospitals too....) like why it takes a week to a week and a half to move a little green strip of paper two blocks away and back again and why it still sometimes ends up in the wrong place. Technically i think that was my GP surgery's fault, though.

 

[trophywench]

No Medicare only covers 'emergencies' or accidents or illnesses you contract whilst you are there, it doesn't cover the cost of doctoring or medications for the normal treatment of pre-existing conditions.

EG if I have a 'blue light' hypo or go into DKA and need A&E - they'll cover it. But not running out of test strips!

I can easily get anything I need by seeing a doctor (approx AUS $60) and getting a script, then getting that from the pharmacy for which I would have to pay full price. Please don't ask! - but anyway, I had to get a box of pre-filled Novorapid pens and ditto of Levemir last time we were there. Cost AUS $180-ish for the two. So that was AUS $240 I had to claim back from the Travel insurance when we got home. Good old plastic .....

 

[Copepod]

When you go to Australia, you'll be expected to use Medicare for "urgent or immediate medical treatment" but not "routine monitoring of pre-existing conditions", so it's a bit unclear whether or not blood glucose test strips are inlcuded or not!

see http://www.nhs.uk/NHSEngland/Health...e/NonEEAcountries/Pages/Non-EEAcountries.aspx

Worth ensuring you have the documents needed in case you need to use Medicare, as well as insurance.

I think that I said pretty much the same as you, Trophywench - just wasn't quite sure how prescription of blood glucose test strips is considered.

 

[PhilT]

LOL - I've been getting strips on prescription for 19 years (Yes I was dxed back in the days when T2s got a rollicking for Not testing!)
I get 100 every six weeks at the moment, which was questioned once, so I top up very occasionally if the price is right so as not to upset that balance.

-------------------------------------------
"Gold spent on health us never wasted" Francis Bacon.

Glad to hear you get them on prescription as I know some Doctor's can be tight when it comes to test strips.