Wtf is going on with pharmacies

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I remember a time when you would go to the doctor, or put a repeat prescription request in, get a green bit of paper, take it to a chemist and get your medication after a short wait.

My previous pharmacy was taking 3+ days to dispense medication so I moved to one that seemed a bit quieter.

This one is now telling me it's going to be at least 24 hours. And it's been sent electronically so unless I want a load of piss arsing about asking for it to be released and queuing up for a receipt to get it elsewhere, I just have to wait.

I have a raging infection that I need antibiotics for I can't understand why it's taking days to get medication. I don't even mind them saying come back in a couple of hours, but several days is surely taking the piss?!

We’ve had issues with ours too.

A little while ago DD was prescribed antibiotics after a phone appointment on a Friday morning and the GP said they’d send the prescription to my nominated pharmacy. I left it until later in the afternoon to go and pick them to be told it was 24 hours for prescriptions, but they weren’t open over weekends so had to wait until Monday.

Took ages of faffing for them to put it back on the Spine (? I think) so I could go and get them from a different pharmacy.

Used to be able to go straight in and get them. There would be a bit of a wait while they got it ready, but you could always get them same day.

Another delaying factor is that we are all being told to consult a pharmacist before making a GP appointment. Poor pharmacists are doing the doctor's job as well as dispensing meds. I appreciate that pharmacists can help in many cases but with so.many consulting them it delays things

I have learnt that any prescription that is needed promptly, like antibiotics, or different inhalers for my DD, I ask the GP surgery to print it out for me to collect. Then I physically take it to the pharmacy and wait for it to be dispensed.

Any prescription sent electronically takes minimum 3 days to be dispensed.

If the pharmacy hasn't already fulfilled any part of the script you can collect it and take to another pharmacy if they can do it quicker.

Why would a GP, who has just advised a person with an acute condition start taking x medication straight away, knowingly then put the script into a system that will delay the medication by 3 days?

Why would the GP not be saying pro-actively “let’s print this out for you right now”.

DD’s prescription was sent by our gp to Asda pharmacy as dh collected it an hour later. Maybe a local issue.

Our surgery gives you an option. If they send the prescription electronically you'll get it the next day. Alternatively you can go to the surgery and pick up a paper prescription and it'll be filled while you wait - usually in 10 mins or so

I work in the NHS technically antibiotics should be released the same day. The 3 days or 24 hour waits is normally for repeats or medications taking monthly that's not on repeats.

I would query with the pharmacy tbh because antibiotics can be important to start straight away.

But then sometimes you have to do things for yourself and go to the pharmacy and ask for it. I don't know any pharmacies that would say you need to come back in 3 days or 1 day for antibiotics. If it's not done when you get there then they can do it for you. You might just need to wait 5-10 mins.

Pharmacists can prescribe antibiotics for certain things now. Would it be worth going to a different one and getting a new prescription off them?

They're a disgrace. Their behaviour during Covid was embarrasing. Must try harder pharmacies. You exist for us, not the other way round.

DH requested this repeat medication on Monday via the NHS app. I went to the pharmacy this morning to collect it and waited while they found it on the system, printed it out, made it up, double checked it etc - 20 minutes.

They are clearly giving priority to people who come straight from the surgery next door, having just seen the doctor.

Like a PP, we are caught between ordering repeats in enough time to collect before we run out, and being told off for making the requests too early. DH and I are both on lifelong medication that is dispensed every 28 days. Even every three months would ease the burden on the pharmacy, but the surgery say they can't do it.

@CheapThrillsMeanNothing That is not the only reason, during lockdown many people started to bypass their high street Pharmacists and used online companies such as Pharmacy2U instead, even last month when I needed to change my Pharmacist and asked on my community page which one people recommended, 9 out 10 people replied saying they don't use high street ones anymore and recommended the online service they use, problem is many people buy add on purchases like shampoo, over the counter medication etc while they are in there meaning a lot of Pharmacists are losing this extra revenue, My new Pharmacist was opened in 1870 and it would be a tragedy if it had to close due to online Pharmacists, luckily it is always busy and yes I buy other things when I am in there, like everything else if you don't use them you lose them

@OP, did you ask the pharmacist’s view about the risks of waiting 24 hours to start antibiotics?

I’m struggling to see how they could have a backlog of acute prescriptions so huge that yours couldn’t be done before they close today? Would there not be a triage approach rather than a first come first served/cab rank approach? When you are literally standing there and the drugs are in there on the shelf?

DH has just returned from a 2 hour pharmacy run. His instructions were to buy 1 OTC medication and to collect three prescription items- all repeats, for which we had messages from the pharmacy saying they were ready. One item was not ready, they had no idea where it was. The OTC was not available at that pharmacy or the another one that he walked to during the 45 minute wait to collect the other 2 items that apparently were ready. He said there was one guy who was on his third visit to collect his meds which they'd texted him to say were ready - they still were not. Someone else who said she'd already waited for the 45 mins she was told when she handed in her prescription, when would it be ready - another 10 mins, it wasn't, so she left without it.

I get you OP. My issue is that we now have a pharmacist attached to our GP surgery. I guess they are there to make sure that there are no mistakes made re interactions or dosage for example but ours has become a kind of gate keeper so will routinely cancel orders even if the GP has okayed them. I ordered some pain killers for my prolapsed disc, been on them a couple of years, GP wrote a prescription, pharmacist cancelled it because I should have had 5 tablets left, essentially 2 days worth. Failed to inform me so I was without analgesia for 48 hours because it was over the weekend. Also did it with my BP meds. It’s infuriating.

Mine takes 48 hours for repeat prescriptions & same day for one off ones as long as they are sent across before lunch. Mine get delivered.

Repeat prescriptions take a working week, or at least allow, but if you go in and sweet take them as long as prescription is in system and they fave stock they will bend over backwards to fill for you with a bit of a wait. But our family repeats we usually put in a week before needed to not add to the burden.

Urgent antibiotics I ask for paper prescription, will ask at our local pharmacy if they don't have stock will then search elsewhere.

I think our Drs/pharmacy and electronic prescriptions are great.

I have a serial prescription. I just show up at the pharmacy up to 7 days before am due to run out, I don't even need to tell them I am coming and it is already made up waiting for me to collect. Any repeat prescriptions we are allowed to order 7 days in advance so never an issue waiting a couple of days.

Any prescriptions given after an e-consult and not urgent get sent straight to the pharmacy ready to pick up later that day/the next day (pharmacy usually will text when ready).

If I go to the Dr they still issue a printed prescription for a one off (or they did last time I went with ds last year), or I can pick up for an urgent prescription.

Just got back from the pharmacy, when i got there i didn't mention the delay i just gave my name and said I have a prescription to collect.

They checked.
It hadn't been done yet. Come back later.

I refused and made a bit of a fuss. I said it had been sent over 24 hours ago, I'd been trying to phone all day and the line is constantly blocked, I am feeling increasingly unwell and cannot wait any longer.

They pulled it out of the backlog and said it would be 10/15 minutes so I sat and waited. Absolutely takes the piss, they should have done this yesterday the first time I went in.

To answer a few questions, yes I did explain the urgency yesterday and asked if it could be done sooner, I was told no, there is much of a backlog and everything is already triaged.

I voted remain, not that this has got anything to do with whoever asked, nor does it have anything to do with how efficiently medicines are dispensed to people who are unwell.

The prescription was sent electronically direct to my preferred chemist so I couldn't take the paper elsewhere without queueing up and getting it released then traipsing about everywhere trying to find somewhere more efficient. I am too unwell and don't have the energy for it. I cant drive safely at the moment due to the side effects of the illness so it would mean walking around and dragging the kids along too.

Anyway, I've got it now, but I already dread having to go for a review next week and going through this rigmarole again.

I also fully understand repeats and regular medication should be ordered in advance so if it takes 3 days to process you are not short waiting for it. You can't order it late then get in a hissy fit because it's not ready.

But a medication prescribed in response to an illness that needs treating urgently should be same day turnaround at the very least, if not a quick while you wait job.

My local pharmacy started sending the prescriptions to a central hub to process so it would take ages. They were part of a chain. You could ask them them not to do that but I changed pharmacies in the end to a small independent one. A lot of medication has been out of stock due to supply issues as well so I’ve had to wait longer for some things.

To answer a few questions, yes I did explain the urgency yesterday and asked if it could be done sooner, I was told no, there is much of a backlog and everything is already triaged.

That is shocking . How could the triage system possibly have prioritised a prescription for someone who was not even there over you standing in front of them with an acute condition?

I can’t even bear to think about our pharmacy.

Its honestly like a rummage sale. You might get your prescription you might not. Depends if they can find it.

They often deny knowledge of prescriptions that later surface.

No one ever answers the phone.

The queues are out of the door all the time. I die a little bit everytime l go in. Which l try to avoid.