I’m in London on holidays at the moment from Australia and I’m short on some medication I take. According to my Google search this particular medication is available over the counter in Superdrug. I tried a couple of different Superdrugs yesterday and both pharmacists were pretty rude to me. Even after I showed them the relevant page on Superdrug’s own website on my phone they still looked at me like I had two heads and said they’d never come across this before and basically bad luck, try an online doctor for a prescription.
I’ll be honest that I’m not even sure I can even use a UK online doctor as an Australian and this isn’t some obscure drug (it’s Norethisterone). One pharmacy assistant even asked what the medication is for and looked at me like I was crazy when I told her it was for delaying periods. I was polite to these people, I swear.
I’ve come across this a few times in Australia with grumpy pharmacists too. I know part of it is just the whole health system being under huge strain but it’s a shame they can ‘t be more helpful. They are meant to be in a customer service job.
This contrast hugely with the interactions with pharmacists in France. They were extremely helpful and instantly knew what I needed for the issue I had. I can imagine it cuts down on GP and A&E visits there massively.