Prescriptions - am I doing it wrong?

[BarrelOfOtters]

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??

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

My understanding is that if the script reaches the Pharmacy on a Wednesday it will be ready for collection by you on the following monday afternoon

Our surgery does electronic prescriptions which just get sent to the pharmacy when they are done. It removed the 'pick up' day issue, and you get a text when it's ready.

Things have been much better since, so I think it really does come down to how things are set up locally

Does anyone else have a problem obtaining (and avoiding) particular brands of medication? One of the common additives ('excipients') in a lot of medicines makes me really unwell - acacia - and it's such a slog trying to get the right brand every month or two months. Some of the most frequently dispensed medications, eg Teva levothyroxine, are no good to me.

I'm on multiple medications and we use an independent pharmacy with (theoretically) more ordering flexibility, but even so it's a big saga more often than not. Everybody's doing their best but I've still sometimes been left without medication for days.

OP, hope you have success with Boots. Good luck.

I have a monthly repeat prescription which I submit via GP app the week before
It then goes to boots who then text when ready to pick up
I think allow more time Pharmacies are overwhelmed in some areas

I do my prescription via pharmacy2U - they text me when it is likely I'm running out. I press two buttons to order more - and then it gets posted through my front door. It's free and very easy!

@BarrelOfOtters BarrelOfOtters · Today 14:15
Local pharmacy definitely can't text but I'll see if my local Boots will - that could be a gamechanger.

Please support your local pharmacy if you can by ordering your repeat prescriptions earlier. They are an important part of the community especially for older people.

Well they need to provide the services that their customers value.
No super-busy person is going to opt for a less convenient arrangement just because other people think they somehow have a duty to support a business that isn't meeting their needs.

No super-busy person is going to opt for a less convenient arrangement just because other people think they somehow have a duty to support a business that isn't meeting their needs.

??? Why? Bit of an odd attitude.

You might not need the business today but you might need it tomorrow when you can't actually get to the big conglomerate further away but the local one has a team of volunteers ready to deliver for example or is easier and quicker to get to.

Besides from what I understood, it's not at all that it's not meeting the needs of a repeat prescription, it is just the OP is requesting it at the last minute and expecting it to be available in 24 hours.

She doesn't actually need a text notification, she just needs it to be ready when she goes to collect it. Which is easily achieved by not leaving your request until the last minute.

I use PHlo it's free next day delivery and it's tracked. Order from the surgery for you too.

We have to allow 72 hrs here although ours regularly disappear into the ether

I can order my prescriptions online from my GP and then just pop in a few days later? May be easier to do an online order (via the GP's online system, often logged into on the GP practice website). That way it pops into the pharmacy's electronic system and I find gets dispensed much quicker as there's no picking up of physical prescription forms.

Ours vary between 3-6 days generally after you put the repeat in. Though what they were doing with my latest prescription I don’t know. The nurse put it through on 3rd May and it still isn’t ready.

Not all meds can be done like that. Mine are controlled as they're so strong so it's a real pain in the bum!

Lloyds pharmacy app seems to manage. You can track at each stage. They post for free or you can collect at pharmacy of your choice (for non-lloyds pharmacy all it takes is a barcode which gets emailed to you in minutes).

I get controlled meds through Lloyds app. It just means they get sent under a signed-for delivery service. It doesn't automatically make my prescription requests but it tracks everything and reminds me when I need to. Then it handles it from there. All in the app.

DD works in a pharmacy. They are extremely understaffed and she had to stay late every night last week to make up prescriptions. Often the surgeries don't send them straight away then they get patients shouting at them in the shop.

Then there is the issue of certain drugs being in short supply or unavailable or in the wrong pack or container sizes. They then need to refer back to the GP and ask the prescription to be reissued.

It is a dreadful time for pharmacies right now.

I order my repeats by email to the pharmacy. They seem to be better organised than the GP system at the moment. However the pharmacy recently changed hands and things seem to be unravelling. I always allow a week though.

Repeat or new prescriptions approved by our GP go straight through to the (local supermarket) pharmacy, able to collect same day. If you turn up straight from the appointment you might have to wait 15 minutes tops. If they're out of whatever it is, it's usually delivered to the pharmacy by the next day.

Our little GP surgery has its own dispensary. They have always asked for 4 days’ notice (and we can order online up to 2 weeks in advance), but lately it’s been taking much longer, in part due to lack of availability and their being forced to use only suppliers approved by the CCG. They do text once it’s ready though.

I call in a repeat prescription when I'm two weeks from the end of my meds; I get a "ready for pickup" text from the pharmacy two to four days later.

I also have a small buffer of pills built from occasional missed ones, just in case. Got to be prepared. I'll take those spares now and again so they don't go out of date, and put fresh ones in the buffer.

Why not have your prescription sent to one of the pharmacies that post you the drugs . I use Lloyds , used to be echo , and they email me when they get the script from the GP and when they post it and the Royal Mail tell me when they are going to deliver .

Order online day one, once prescribed it’s sent electronically to pharmacy, usually the same day or day two. Whenever I call in on my way home on the second day around 3pm they have it ready and waiting.