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Original poster

Prescriptions - am I doing it wrong?

47 replies

BarrelOfOtters · 15/05/2023 12:03

I order form the GP and ask for it to be sent to the pharmacy I walk past most days.

The pharmacy pick up on a Wednesday so in theory it should be there on the Thursday.

It often isn't though and I have to then ring the GP to find out where it is and it hasn't been signed etc or missed the pick up.

My Yodel parcel/Royal Mail parcel has a tracking app and I can see exactly where it it is. Why can't prescriptions be the same?

I feel like I'm missing something??

OP posts:

HappyHolidai · 15/05/2023 12:21

Our pharmacy says it takes a week to dispense prescriptions. Maybe just leave it a bit longer. Next day is very optimistic.

Bluevelvetsofa · 15/05/2023 12:25

Don’t they usually state that you should allow three working days? I order in advance, just in case.

dementedpixie · 15/05/2023 12:26

I order repeat prescriptions through the chemist and they always say that you need to allow 72 hours until you can collect it.

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wtfisgoingonhere21 · 15/05/2023 12:27

It might turn up there in a day but most pharmacies are short staffed a lot of the time and will most definitely have a back log of scripts to fill let alone the stuff that doesn't come In which they don't know until the order arrives.

hopefulsquirrel · 15/05/2023 12:28

I have my prescriptions on automatic repeats and I get them through boots online so they are just posted to my house

BarbaraofSeville · 15/05/2023 12:38

It depends on the arrangement between the surgery and the pharmacy. Ours go from the surgery to the pharmacy across the road and are often subject to unexplained delays as sending a piece of paper or electronic equivalent 50 metres is beyond either of them

But probably like everything these days, they're short staffed and have too much to do, or the prescription has got there but the medication is out of stock.

KittyAlfred · 15/05/2023 12:52

When you request a prescription one of 2 things happen.

If it’s a repeat prescription, something you regularly have, the receptionist can issue it on the screen. It will then go into an “in box” to be electronically signed by a doctor. There will be hundreds of these per day, so if it’s a busy day, it can be difficult for the doctors to get a chance to sign them.

If it’s a drug that isn’t on repeats, then the receptionist can’t issue it, and has to send a task to the duty doctor to request it. The doctor has to look at the request, look at the patients records, look what it’s for, if it’s safe/appropriate to issue etc.

Once a prescription is electronically signed, it goes to the designated pharmacy. I’m not a pharmacist but I’m guessing they get hundreds of prescriptions coming through every day. Each one would need to be made up, counted, checked etc by pharmacists, so it all takes time.

Hence allowing 3 working days.

toomuchfaster · 15/05/2023 12:53

Minimum will be 48 hours for r the surgery to produce the prescription, then another 48 hours for the pharmacy to order stock and dispense. Order Monday and it would be ready Friday if you're lucky. Generally give it a week. Next day is way to optimistic.
@BarbaraofSeville funnily enough the distance is irrelevant when sending electronically. The NHS system is unstable and can't cope with the volume of work at times so things can sit in the waiting queue for days.

LittleLegsKeepGoing · 15/05/2023 13:07

Honestly, if you wanted your prescription to be ready for the pharmacy to pick up on Wednesday I'd order on Friday at the absolute latest but more sensibly on the Thursday, are you doing this?

If the service could be completely digitised where the prescription is never actually printed but sent in a physical 'batch' to the pharmacy for processing I agree that being able to track the progress would be a natural thing to build into the system.

However, undertaking a system upgrade like that with variable 3rd parties would cost an eye-watering sum of money for very small tangible benefits. Plus if the service is wholly digital you'd have to request a new paper copy of the prescription to get it fulfilled at a different pharmacy if they have the medication you need and your regular one doesn't. (I've had to play hunt the medication on more than one occasion thanks to the supply issues since Brexit).

Introducing a digital tracking system for a paper based process would be an admin nightmare and slow processing times down even more.

NowItsSpring · 15/05/2023 13:16

Our surgery requires 3 days notice for repeat prescriptions, though to be fair mine have always been sent to the pharmacy quite quickly, sometimes the same day. I order mine online through the my GP app and get a notification when it has been approved. The pharmacy then request 3 days to process rrpeat prescriptions as they prioritise same day new prescriptions, eg for antibiotics. I am now set up for the pharmacy to text when my prescription is ready for collection - didn't know this was a thing until I had queued three times to collect my first repeat prescription as I hadn't appreciated how long it would take. No criticism of the pharmacy here - they are so busy. Maybe ask your pharmacy if they have a text service.

123ZYX · 15/05/2023 13:23

At my GP, if it's a repeat prescription you can order it via the app. The app then updated to show when it's approved by the GP.

I use Boots as my preferred pharmacy, because they then send me a text when it's ready to collect.

I assume the first stage is available at all GPs?

MissMarplesNiece · 15/05/2023 13:24

What I dont understand is why somethings I have to order the repeat from the pharmacy and other repeats I have to order from my GP.

For example I take 2 sorts of insulin, the one has to be ordered via the GP while for the other the pharmacy holds the prescription. I made a mistake a couple of weeks ago and tried to order a repeat prescription of another medication from my GP, when apparently it should have been ordered from the pharmacy & then got a curt text from the GP asking me not to waste their time. On the other hand, I ordered yet a 4th different repeat medication from the pharmacy, went later in the week to collect it, to find out it had to be ordered via GP. These are all long term medications, not one offs. My head gets in a spin trying to know what to order from who.

pinkpirlie · 15/05/2023 13:31

My experience is prescriptions go electronically to the pharmacy, usually same day I request them. I can see in my NHS app that the prescription has been completed and then I call the pharmacy to check they have the medicine in stock, before going down to collect it. If it isn't in stock, usually the phone call prompts them to order it and it usually (but not always) arrives next day.

Original poster

BarrelOfOtters · 15/05/2023 13:32

OK, I need to order sooner. fair enough.

But if I know when my brocolli seedlings have arrived by courier - why can't I get a text saying my script is ready to pick up -...and the medication is in.

OP posts:

howaboutchocolate · 15/05/2023 13:37

BarrelOfOtters · 15/05/2023 13:32

OK, I need to order sooner. fair enough.

But if I know when my brocolli seedlings have arrived by courier - why can't I get a text saying my script is ready to pick up -...and the medication is in.

You (or the people you order off) are paying for tracking services when you pay for postage. Prescription charges would need to go up for a tracking service to be included. These things cost money and take up people's time.

Wherewherewhere · 15/05/2023 13:45

The pharmacy pick up on a Wednesday so in theory it should be there on the Thursday.

are you sure about this? My local pharmacy is hugely busy and can take a week sometimes to dispense a repeat prescription unless you've called them to request it urgently.

A repeat prescription is something that shouldn't real be urgent because patients do have the opportunity to order it in good time.

Shellingbynight · 15/05/2023 13:47

BarrelOfOtters · 15/05/2023 13:32

OK, I need to order sooner. fair enough.

But if I know when my brocolli seedlings have arrived by courier - why can't I get a text saying my script is ready to pick up -...and the medication is in.

Like a previous poster, I ask for my prescriptions to be sent to my local branch of Boots. They then text me when it's ready.
Have you asked your pharmacy if they can do that?

toomuchlaundry · 15/05/2023 13:49

I get a text notification from Boots when my (and elderly relatives who I pick up medications for) prescriptions are ready to pick up

RafaistheKingofClay · 15/05/2023 13:51

I get a text notification too. They reorder for me and then send me a text when it is ready.

MrsAvocet · 15/05/2023 14:11

I share your frustration OP. I know how the system works and that it takes time, but I find our GP surgery very inconsistent and difficult to deal with. It has its own pharmac in the same building but they are so inefficient that lots of people are getting their prescriptions from other pharmacies now. First of all, timing is tricky. If you request a repeat too soon they won't process it. But leave it a couple of days longer and you'll be told you've left it too late! Then they frequently don't have stuff in stock, and sometimes they tell you, sometimes they don't. I went to pick up my DS's prescription a few months ago and none of the 3 items were available. I live 10 miles from the surgery and had gone specifically so that was quite annoying. Sometimes they phone or text to say things are ready, sometimes they don't andcthey get grumpy ifvyiu call to ask or say they are too busy to check right now. I have had prescriptions randomly delivered on occasion, though I haven't asked for it. That's great if someone is home, but really, really frustrating when you are standing in the pharmacy 10 miles away trying to collect it! I quite understand that the NHS is very stretched and that most staff are doing their best in difficult circumstances but there are some systems that are just crap really.

Original poster

BarrelOfOtters · 15/05/2023 14:15

Local pharmacy definitely can't text but I'll see if my local Boots will - that could be a gamechanger.

OP posts:

mindutopia · 15/05/2023 14:20

I use Lloyds Direct. I order a repeat and I can see when it's requested from the GP, when the GP has sent it over, and then they post it to me and it's usually here within 48 hours of being filled. I expect them most have something within the app that tells you it's ready for collection (but I don't collect). I don't pay to have it posted and it's much easier as just turns up.

Beamur · 15/05/2023 14:33

My prescriptions go to a designated chemist who text me when it's ready to collect.

PaltnSepper · 15/05/2023 14:41

Ours has recently seemed to change - now the GP doesn't actually have to see/sign repeat prescriptions until a medication review is due (yearly I think?). So before that, the receptionist seems to be able to check if one is due, and if not, they can just issue the prescription to the pharmacy. This probably has speeded things up, though whether it's a good thing to remove some degree of checking in this way, I don't know.

In my case, the delay is almost always at the pharmacy end now - they don't have the medicaitons, or they've not processed them, or they only have some of the stock, or they don't do it until I come in for it, in which case I still have to wait.

mumda · 15/05/2023 15:02

NHS app Wednesday.
BY Friday it was at the chemist.
I suspect it had just been done though when I arrived.

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