5 days to fill a prescription.

@spanieleyes22 our pharmacy is dreadful!! went to pick up hubbys repeat (2 monthly) and had to return 4 times cos they didnt have enough and they forgot altogether about 1 script! they do not give even one tablet extra so some packs have 28 days in them and some have 28 days! always running short on the 28day ones!!

No 5 working days is ridiculous, if its a same day doctors appointment here at our GP'S then they send it straight to the pharmacy that you request or you can have a printout if you are seeing the doctor in person

A repeat takes 3 days, but that is regularly repeat medication so.ypu wouldn't need that urgently.

Boots are notorious for this.

It's not normal where I am in wales or where are various family members are in England - however we've all had Boots issues of various sorts to point we'd try there last these days. * *

The pharmacy will not buy in items to keep in stock as they are so expensive - the NHS does not provide stock. The NHS (government) reimburses pharmacy for items dispensed but will often pay less than the cost price. Unlike the time when Mrs sunak senior was running her pharmacy there are shortages so a more expensive brand has to be bought in (Weetabix is twice the price of Tesco own brand).
GPs have always been slow at sending prescriptions round.
We have a chance in two weeks to get rid of a government who wants to destroy the nhs

It's MN, some people seem to derive pleasure from making an OP feel small and ignorant.

Sounds like you just had a crap chemist.

I ordered my medication yesterday and just had a text to say it was ready to collect. That's the normal scenario.

When the doc prescribed me antibiotics at a telephone appointment they were ready to collect the same day.

Definitely not normal to me, DS saw the doctor last week for an ear infection. She sent the prescription through to Boots there and then, and half an hour later I went to pick it up, just had a 10 minute wait while they put it together.

The UK seems to have been sleepwalking into a situation that accepts things like this as being normal and unavoidable.

I live in a EU country. To get my repeat medication I call the surgery (I'm only surprised that I can't do this online) and they order it there and then on an electronic system. As we have electronic health cards, I can then walk into any pharmacy here and my medicine will be provided. The order is instant - I can literally be standing outside the pharmacy and walk in as soon as I put the phone down. If it is not in stock, the pharmacist will order it and it will be available the same afternoon or next morning (assuming that it is not subject to current shortages).

There is a pre-approval system for 3 months, after which I have to speak to the GP, but as I can walk in at any time and see a GP this is not a problem.

This is what a modern healthcare service should be able to provide - but thanks to Hunt and the other clowns who have been Health Ministers over the last 14 years, the damage that their incompetence and fantasy economic "austerity" models have caused will take years to rectify.

I think it very much depends on the pharmacy. I was messed about by Boots and found a local independent who is so helpful. They scoured round to get my HRT meds when they were scarce so I go there all the time. Yesterday I needed antibiotics and they gave me them while waited

. Made the phone call to Gp at 14.45.. saw a nurse practitioner at 16.15 and had the prescription filled by 17.00...

OK well that's really crap. If It's Boots they are notorious for being quite crap.

But you may well find another much more helpful pharmacist elsewhere. Honest. Its not standard.

1. you can buy steroid creams over the counter.

2. electronic prescriptions can be recalled at different chemists so you don't have to stick to a specific one.

Ireland only has two pharmaceutical distributors, if they have it in stock then it will be delivered the next day or that afternoon to pharmacies, If its not in stock it depends on the lead time of the manufacturer. There are shortages here aswell, Brexit caused us a nightmare, aswell as other issues with medicine production. Pharmacies try to over come this by offering other brands or what else is suitable if not you have to wait. Also if you were in Dublin , both distributors can delivery to pharmacies quick as they of course are in Dublin too. Lucky enough now your in the Uk you wont pay a fortune for your prescriptions unless you had the medical card

The pharmacy I used to use is located in the same building as the doctor's surgery. It takes them 10 working days to issue meds on prescriptions... I changed pharmacy and they're able to issue the meds same day.

"Be ready in 5 days. Only when I made a fuss she said ok I'll have a look. Then she said I don't have it . I don't think this was a supply issue. It's ther protocol. Every script takes 5 days to prepare. That's before they even check its in stock or not"

If that's so don't ever go back to that pharmacy. I've never heard of anyone behave like that. I think its much more likely she meant that the drug was going to take five days to order in. Which is still scandalous - especially if its steroid cream. But the drugs going out of supply are really random. Dry eye is an effect of some MH drugs and we can't prescribe lubricating eye ointment for sore eyes atm because its not available anywhere.

Typically prescriptions get filled asap. That should be sooner than five days. Pharmacists are working at capacity trying to source drugs atm and sometimes there is miscommunication about this. But I think it is vanishingly unlikely this pharmacy has a protocol of only fulfilling scripts in five days time as that would be really stupid.

Then I'd say that's not the norm for my local chemist. They didn't have my hrt once and I took the token to boots and they had it. Vice versaly (is that even a word) I find my local boots in general a bit naff and try to avoid.

Just came in from docs appointment with my daughter for an skin itch that won't go away after a few weeks. I asked for a paper script and was declined. They said they had sent her eps script to our pharmacy but I know it won't be ready now. Will nip out in an hour before they close. Fingers crossed

When the GP prescribed a steroid cream for my husband, he said it was in short supply and he may not be able to find it; still prescribed it though. He had to go to 5 pharmacies before he found anyone with it in stock.