Stupid pharmacy!

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I used boots, they are great, the previous one I used (Moss - now boots I think) were just full of attitude, especially as I'd expect answers to questions and challenge them. I could then, not so easy now.

With Boots and the repeat dispensing prescription system I have, my GP writes up 6 months worth of scripts and gets them to boots, usually me as it's at the 6 monthly review.

So they then use this sophisticated piece of technology - a paper diary and on the 13th of each month they build my prescription up, everything, needles, sharps bins, test strips, insulin, tabs the lot in one carrier bag with the insulin in the fridge. I go in on the 14th and walk out a few minutes later - easy.

I don't need to contact the surgery as the scripts are already there, when I am collecting my last months they tell me and I have loads of time to make an appointment with my GP, go through things and make any changes.

The down side is it can be wasteful, as NovoRapid will last me six weeks, but I get six weeks worth every month - repear dispensing is rigid, but, I rotate my insulin, so always have spare and with the waste in the NHS my little bit is nothing, compared to the time people here trek back and forth to the pharmacist and the doctors for their screw ups.

A lot of it comes down to how well you get on with the pharmacist and just how considerate they are of their custome - many see us as a pain, but without us they'd have no business, so it's about time they sit up and listen.

If they know there is a customer who comes in every month for 'x, y and z' why can't they hold that as extra stock?

As for only having half a box of needles? How? They are prescribed per box as there is only an NHS tarrif per box, not per half box. Tablets are a different matter, but it's like someone taking 10 test strips from a tub and owing you the rest.

I like all sterile items to be comletely sealed, needles, lancest, test strips with their tabs on and the boxes sealed as well - otherwise you have no idead whose been at them with their grubby paws.
 
Hi David, unfortunately this stupid pharmacist is a Boots - used to be Lloyds. They're right next door to the surgery so have pretty much a captive market. I'd have to walk a couple of miles further to the next closest one (not worth the bus fare as fares are high for short journies!). But I know it's not just me - I have seen loads of people standing around for ages just to be told that their order is incomplete - there are always a lot of angry people, and I would go so far as to say they are in the majority.

I have effectively signed up for their repeat service as I filled out a form last time - the promise was that, by doing it this way they could order in what was required and I wouldn't have to wait. What a load of b**lo**s that was!
 
Best solution I've found is to give prescription to sign up with a pharmacy to do repeat prescriptions, give in repeat request to pharmacy, which then knows what you've requested, sends it to GP and has all items ready when you collect a few days later. So far, it's worked for me, but I realise not all are so lucky. I think it's more due to the pharmacist in charge of the shop, than the chain, but my local is a Co-Op. I suspect half boxes only happen when pharmacists try to help those who've run out of supplies. Once I went to my local pharmacy, run by a woman who I've seen running / cycling nearby and she's seen me doing the same, to ask to buy film dressings for sore patches on my legs from running shorts - and she gave me, I think 4 dressings from a box of 10, which was all I needed, and refused to take any money for them.
 
Copepod said:
Best solution I've found is to give prescription to sign up with a pharmacy to do repeat prescriptions, give in repeat request to pharmacy, which then knows what you've requested, sends it to GP and has all items ready when you collect a few days later. So far, it's worked for me, but I realise not all are so lucky...
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This is precisely what I did and was led to believe would be the outcome, which is why I'm especially angry about it this time around. If they admitted it would take two weeks to get suppies I would be happier because I would simply put my script in earlier, but they told me it would be 3 days, I waited 4 and they hadn't even ordered the necessary items.

I suspect if I gave them two weeks, they would wait three weeks before ordering anything. Also, I'm not asking for particularly specialist items - fairly common test strips, insulin and needles, not the pineal gland of a platypus FGS!
 
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which boots do you use northe? Is it the one in portswood?
 
salmonpuff said:
which boots do you use northe? Is it the one in portswood?
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No, Portswood is where I'll have to go to in future, which is a bit of a hike. There are a few pharmacies in Portswood though, so hopefully more competition means better service!
 
Northerner said:
No, Portswood is where I'll have to go to in future, which is a bit of a hike. There are a few pharmacies in Portswood though, so hopefully more competition means better service!
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There's a little one just up from waitrose, next to the wedding shop i think its called Day Lewis?, but they seem really nice in there. Have been in a few times for various things 🙂

The girls in portswood boots are utterly brilliant though, love them to bits!!
 
Northerner said:
No, Portswood is where I'll have to go to in future, which is a bit of a hike. There are a few pharmacies in Portswood though, so hopefully more competition means better service!
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Look on the counter near the Pharmacy, Boots seem quite keen on customer satisfaction surveys, although they may elect not to hand the forms out in your pharmacy - I wonder why? 🙄

The other option is send an email of complaint to Boots head office, if no-one complains they will never know - like medics, think pharmacists are beyond reach, however, they are there to serve us...

Worth dropping a line to them.
 
why is it all made so complicated??....its not like your all going to miraculosly stop needing the meds... as in terms of a risk assessment it could be a life/death situation... does you chemist want that responsiblity on their indemity insurance...I presume chemist need to have it to practice??
 
Yeah, they do need insurance, although i doubt it grants indemnity from anything. ...This might be automatic with being resgistered with the Royal Pharmaceutical society, which all pharmacists have to be, and all techs will have to be in the next couple of years.It certainly doesn't get anybody out of trouble for serious errors or mess-ups. Pharmacists and technicians have been subject to criminal prosecution lately for what could be classed as human error. Not wanting to make too many excuses but some community pharmacists work for insanely long hours and under difficult conditions, when it's easy to make what could be a life threatening mistake.The society polices lesser offences, but punishments range from fines, suspensions to striking off.
If you really want to complain, try dropping them a line, www.rpsgb.org.uk, they have a complaints form on-line.
On a lighter note, in one of the trade journals i read last week, there was an idea of making all pharmacies subject to a customer satisfaction survey/rating scheme. That at least gives the customer a chance to put thier views across, even if it does have us all quaking in our boots (no pun intended).
I see your point, although there are lots of different brands of strip and insulin, as far as i can tell (and i've never worked in community, but it would be kind of daft to discharge a patient from hospital with completely different insulin from the kind they get at home...not without an explaination, not that i'd put it past some people....) most people are stuff like novorapid, levemir and lantus, so you'd think that pharmacies would have a decent supply...

Rachel
 
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