Rubbish pharmacy!

[Northerner]

I went to collect my prescription the other day. It's a good job I wasn't desperately short on supplies - they didn't have my needles, test strips or novorapid!😱 They say they will be in on Monday, but I'm not trailing up there again - will leave it till Tuesday to make sure. It seems that the pharmacist who worked there has gone to live in Canada and ever since then the place has gone to pot - quite a few people were being turned away with incomplete prescriptions - has this ever happened to you?

I always try to make sure I order new stuff when I still have a month's worth left, now I'm glad I do!

 

[Steff]

blimey! mind not the first time on here is it that they have messed up , i'm like you northener i always put my oder in so to speak about 3 weeks in advance then that gives them plenty time ofr thats what we like to think, I aint ever known or heard of any scripts been incomplete tho but i bet is happens regularly

 

[insulinaddict09]

I love my chemist !! they are always lending me stuff , Im always running out of everything heheh. The odd occassion they have not had something that I need on my script but the order it in for me and I get it the next day This has only happened a couple of times though .

 

[Copepod]

If they told you supplies would be ready by a certain time / date, and pharmacy realised they weren't going to be ready, then they SHOULD phone you to prevent a wasted journey AND offer to post the items when they arrive. However, that would add postal times, so not good if you're desperately low on supplies, and not so good to post insulin due to cold chain requirements.
As Northerner points out, it shows the vital importance of not leaving it until you're down to your last strip / lancet / cartridge / tablet - a month of leeway seems wise.
The only time I had a problem with a pharmacy (when someone ticked the box on back of prescription saying I was on Income Support, not medical exemption, resulting in being chased by NHS fraud department some weeks later), I wrote to the pharmacist in charge, explaining what one of the staff had done and saying that would never use that shop again, which I have't, even though they have a repeat prescription service from my GP's surgery. The pharmacist write to apologise. Worth explaining a problem, without blaming. If the local shop is the part of a chain, might be worth trying further up the company.

 

[katie]

I went to collect my prescription the other day. It's a good job I wasn't desperately short on supplies - they didn't have my needles, test strips or novorapid!😱 They say they will be in on Monday, but I'm not trailing up there again - will leave it till Tuesday to make sure. It seems that the pharmacist who worked there has gone to live in Canada and ever since then the place has gone to pot - quite a few people were being turned away with incomplete prescriptions - has this ever happened to you?

I always try to make sure I order new stuff when I still have a month's worth left, now I'm glad I do!

A month's worth of test strips left?? I wish I could make that happen.

I live in a small village and everything I get my prescription there is something missing, but usually one packet of whatever it is, so i'm usually fine. I just find it funny now. Last time I went in the lady there said sorry we dont have this or this... and the pharmacist said "I think this lady is used to us running out of everything she needs". He knows me and never asks for my name or address, sometimes I feel like the only diabetic in the village because he seemed to recognise me after the second time I went in there

I usually get my mum to collect the stuff they've had to order in for me so it doesn't bother me too much hehe!

I love my chemist !! they are always lending me stuff , Im always running out of everything heheh. The odd occassion they have not had something that I need on my script but the order it in for me and I get it the next day.This has only happened a couple of times though .

ooh I wonder if mine would lend me test strips next time I run out?! probably

ok back to home alone...

 

[Northerner]

...sometimes I feel like the only diabetic in the village because he seemed to recognise me after the second time I went in there...

How can they run out if you're the 'only diabetic in the village?

Haha! I tried to get a picture of Matt Lucas 'The only gay in the village' and photobucket threw a hissy fit! They must be homophobic!😱 I did get this though...

 

[HelenP]

I recently worked in a pharmacy for about 9 months (but left before taking 'the course', which is why I'm still ignorant about most things, lol). It was very interesting to see things 'from the other side'. I came to realise you get a MUCH better service from a small independent pharmacy - our guy knew all the customers, their ailments, prescriptions and medications, his brain must've been practically exploding with all the info he kept filed away in there. All the customers thought he was some kind of saint!!

Shame he was such a pr*tt when it came to staff, which is why I left, lol.

xx

 

[Freddie99]

The pharmacies in my area can be an absolute shower. Along with the secretaries at the GP who couldn't organise a piss up in a brewery. I have to make sure I still have some supplies in hand to avoid a catastrophe.

 

[sasha1]

Hi All ...

I cannot fault Nathan's chemist ... Boots ... Having said that I always keep a good supply of things .. On a couple of occasions, where I have run out of test strips or Needles they have always lent me them till the prescription arrives. Boots have a detailed list of all Nathan's requirements ... which is a good job as its usually the Doctor's surgery that screws up the prescription.. Now thats another rant all together ...

Heidi
xx🙂

 

[tracey w]

blimey! mind not the first time on here is it that they have messed up , i'm like you northener i always put my oder in so to speak about 3 weeks in advance then that gives them plenty time ofr thats what we like to think, I aint ever known or heard of any scripts been incomplete tho but i bet is happens regularly

all the time! I always send a new script as soon as i get sent one, if you get me. does not matter wher i go, not often they have everything in, whether its lantus, strips or sharps bin. My gp wont take "orange sharps bin" off script even though ive asked, and i keep getting told they have to order them in, i explain yellow is fine and sometimes is ok they will give me a yellow, boots however had to order orange as said on script, didnt tell me would take 2 weeks!!😱

 

[rossi_mac]

My dealer is great, bit worried as we're moving to village life at the end of the month and life may get more difficult then! One of the girls in the place is very friendly and has a cool name, Ping!! They sometimes don't have everything but I try and be a bit organised, and order before I'm completely dry.

 

[katie]

How can they run out if you're the 'only diabetic in the village?

Haha! I tried to get a picture of Matt Lucas 'The only gay in the village' and photobucket threw a hissy fit! They must be homophobic! I did get this though...

oh god, I bet they are racists too! i'm going to have to boycott it 😉

Haha I don't know, maybe i'm one of 2 diabetics in the village and he/she got there first! (the cheek!). I am guessing there arent that many, only because he recognised me and trust me I dont make an impression, im too quiet and I dont go that often. I love that I dont have to say my address or anything, he just passes me my free drugs, no questions asked 😎

 

[Pigeon]

I know how you feel Northerner, I often have frustrations with my pharmacy and the GP getting prescriptions wrong. Last time I asked for a spare Autopen and it took 4 visits to the pharmacy to get it right... I felt like I'd taken up residence! It's just across the road for me, but it makes me cross as they must mess up other people's precriptions too, and I know for someone like my Grandma, or someone who lived out of town, it would be a real hassle.

I've also had it several times where I've collected my prescription a few days after dropping it off, and it's all been in a bag together on a shelf, and I had to ask how long the insulin had been out of the fridge.... "Oh, does it need to be in the fridge?" is the usual reply. You've got to be on the ball as some of them obviously aren't!

 

[Northerner]

I know how you feel Northerner, I often have frustrations with my pharmacy and the GP getting prescriptions wrong. Last time I asked for a spare Autopen and it took 4 visits to the pharmacy to get it right... I felt like I'd taken up residence! It's just across the road for me, but it makes me cross as they must mess up other people's precriptions too, and I know for someone like my Grandma, or someone who lived out of town, it would be a real hassle.

I've also had it several times where I've collected my prescription a few days after dropping it off, and it's all been in a bag together on a shelf, and I had to ask how long the insulin had been out of the fridge.... "Oh, does it need to be in the fridge?" is the usual reply. You've got to be on the ball as some of them obviously aren't!

Ha! I had the Autopen farce! They ordered every variety except the one I had specifically written the code for! Exceptionally poor that they didn't keep the insulin refrigerated - downright dangerous I would have thought! I noticed this time that the lantus I got wasn't in the least bit cool - maybe they're not keeping it in the fridge!😱

 

[katie]

omg 😱 they are pharmacists and should know that insulin has to be kept in the fridge, that's ridiculous!

 

[HelenP]

OMG That's crazy!! First thing I had to do when working in the pharmacy was check all deliveries for fridge items, and get them refrigerated straight away. 99% of the time they were marked as such, or were in a 'easy to spot' blue wrapper with icicles all over it (well, pictures, not actual icicles!) or wrapped in foil to keep them cold. You'd have to be pretty thick not to realise........................ !! On the odd occasion when the company had made an error and not seperated the fridge items, you just knew by experience which drugs had to be refrigerated.

Tsk, you just can't get the staff these days !! 😛

xx

 

[HelenM]

No Boots or any other chain pharmacy here. You're not allowed to own a pharmacy unless you're a pharmacist and you have to be there all the time it's open so they are all one man/woman businesses. They seem to do quite well, we have 8 or 9 in the local town and each has several employees.
One result is that the pharmacist is your pharmacist and if s/he wants to keep your custom (and profit) they look after you. They know you and your problems. As soon as I walk in he comes to the front of the shop and greets me with a handshake. (in another 10 years it will no doubt be kisses!) When a friend was terminally ill his pharmacist visited his home as part of the care team, giving his specialised knowledge on appropriate palliative medication.
When I started on the pump and had to get a completely different insulin that they didn't normally stock I got it within hours (even though we're relatively remote from big centres) .If I want some extra supplies because I'm going to the UK...no problem. As to keeping insulin cold, they always ask if I'm going straight home, if not or if the weathers at all hot they put it in an insulated pouch.
The disadvantage is that they shut down for 2 hours every lunchtime (as almost all businesses do) and for a month in the summer and a couple of weeks in the winter.

 

[aymes]

I've never had major dramas with prescriptions. It is quite common that there will be an item that they don't have in but they always manage to order it so it's ready for the next morning, I walk past the pharmacy and surgery on my way to work every day so it's no hassle for me and I usually order well in advance (although at the moment I'm cutting it fine on needles, should just about be ok...!)

My gp wont take "orange sharps bin" off script even though ive asked, and i keep getting told they have to order them in, i explain yellow is fine and sometimes is ok they will give me a yellow, boots however had to order orange as said on script, didnt tell me would take 2 weeks!!😱

Last time I picked up a sharps bin they were really concerned if I was sure it was ok by me to have a yellow one instead of the orange one on the script, really not sure what difference they thought it was going to make to me!

 

[Northerner]

...Last time I picked up a sharps bin they were really concerned if I was sure it was ok by me to have a yellow one instead of the orange one on the script, really not sure what difference they thought it was going to make to me!

So, what is the difference between yellow and orange sharps bins? Apart from the colour!

 

[insulinaddict09]

So, what is the difference between yellow and orange sharps bins? Apart from the colour!

Hmm mines Yellow with an orange lid !! 😱😱 does it really matter?