It is up to the gp not the pharmacist ??

[Edenviolet]

Dd1 has been unwell for a while.temperature, very sore throat and cough.

Gp took a swab and gave us a prescription for antibiotics and said to get it but not made up and if dd suddenly got worse to start the course immediately otherwise to try and hold off till swab results are back but as they can take a few days just to see what happens.

Went to the pharmacy and asked for the medicine in powder form and was questioned as to why by the pharmacist. She wanted to make the antibiotics up today but as they only last for 7 days once made up and I don't know what day dd may need to start them I said no could I have it unmade. She got quite annoyed with me and started saying about antibiotic resistance etc etc.

I explained again what the gp had said but she was having none of it and wanted to make it up or refuse to do anything.
I also explained to her how poorly dd has been and that I would like the medicine all ready at home in case we need to start it rather than trying to rush and find a pharmacy, especially as my other three dcs and dh have been unwell too and dh has been struggling to even drive so its better if its there's at home to use if need be.

If dd improves and/or the swab is negative obviously I'd return it to be disposed of by the pharmacy.

She was really really off with me. She could have phoned the gp to check but didn't and kept saying it would be made up or not at all.

I then tried to buy two bottles of nurofen and two calpol and two antihistamines and got questioned even more ! I was so angry.

AIBU to think that she should have just done what the gp advised/I'd requested? I had to walk fifteen mins to the next pharmacy to get it and was nearly late for school pick up. Other pharmacy did it no problem at all.

Why not receive them made up, assuming your daughter will either need them within seven days or not at all? Although you might then require a repeat prescription to finish the course....

The pharmacist behaved perfectly reasonably with such an odd (IMO) request.

As others have said yabu. And the pharmacist was very much right to question the amounts you were buying and even to say no if they weren't happy to sell that much

I think you totally misunderstood your gp. Your dds results is not yet known, how can she be taking medication for something not yet diagnosed? Yabu, the pharmacist was right to question this.

Also you say you needed so much as you have 4 kids... did your GP give you 4 prescriptions or phone a named dispenser to explain and get the prescription cleared?

If not then you should go and shout at the GP not the chemist. They have given you a useless piece of paper!

Yabu but you won't have it will you? So why do aibu at all??

YABU, the Dr should have specified that the medication should be dispensed in its powder form on the prescription, he/she. didn't. The pharmacist can only dispense what's on the script as they are responsible for it.

Also .. To take it back to be disposed of if not needed? What a waste, the nhs is practically on its knees as it is

The pharmacist I went to after was fine with it though and asked had I made up antibiotics before (I have) and gave me a measuring cup and went through the instructions anyway, there was no problem at all which is what made me think the first pharmacist had BU.

Reading all the responses I'm not sure now I thought the gp was the one who made the decision

Pharmacists are hugely undervalued healthcare professionals IMO. They've got a lot of responsibility and we assume they just cut up blister packs of tablets.

I think the person being U is your GP. DD either needs antibiotics or she doesn't. They shouldn't be prescribing 'just in case'.

Antibiotics can be prescribed 'just in case'. For example most ear infections clear up without treatment within 2-3 days. Sometimes, especially before say a long BH weekend, a GP will give patients/parents a standby script so that if the patient doesn't improve they can then start the antibiotics without a return GP visit.

Also patients with other conditions are given standby scripts for things like steroids and antibiotics to be used if needed. If a patient has recurrent infections for something they may have a rescue script at home so they can obtain a prescription more quickly.

The gp had said if dd got a lot worse to start them without getting the swab results back.

I used to work in a pharmacy, we had special measures to measure the exact quantities of water needed eg 88ml. This is not easy to do at home.
I don't ever remember giving anyone powder to mix up themselves.
So YABU, although perhaps your GP gave you wrong expectations about what the pharmacist would do.

I don't think you're unreasonable to be frustrated by the seeming inconsistency between pharmacists and the fact that the pharmacist refused to do what you believe the doctor has specified but where I believe you are being unreasonable is in assuming that a pharmacist has to dispense whatever a doctor asks for and wanting them to unquestioningly dispense whatever is prescribed. They're trained and legally responsible, just like a GP is legally responsible for any drug they prescribe you even if it's on the request of a hospital consultant. --

I have to admit I wrongly assumed the pharmacist had to just dispense and thought the gp as the one who prescribed was 'in charge'

I was just going by what the gp had said

Pharmacists are hugely undervalued healthcare professionals IMO

I couldn't agree more. It is a pharmacist who designs your chemotherapy, who prevents doctors filling you up with incompatible drugs and who apparently cannot be enticed to reveal how to make meth out of Sudafed, even when drunk

I work with lots of pharmacists. Brilliant people

Pharmacists always question more than bottle of antihistamine - they have to. My DS used to get 2 different AH with his epipens. Clearly they could tell he had allergies but they still have to ask.

Likewise 2 paracetamol and 2 ibuprofen is a lot. I understand that's because you have 4 children taking it but the pharmacist doesn't know that.

With regards the AB. My DS has also had the throat/ cough thing and been really unwell. I was given a penicillin prescription for "just in case" because he suffers recurrent tonsillitis. I was advised to get it made up when I needed it. Afaik it is made up using distilled water not tap water. Starting immediately doesn't mean the minute it gets worse rather than start then instead of waiting a few days.

Ultimately, it is up to the pharmacist as responsibility for any problems lies with them and their membership of the RPSGB is in jeopardy over serious errors etc. Doctors need to be explicit in their instructions on prescriptions and if your GP wanted you to take it home s/he should have indicated that on the script. Even then, it's up to the pharmacists discretion.

When I was a dispenser we had patients often take home the powdered antibiotic ready to make up at home when needed, particularly if family was due to travel, so I understand your annoyance. But I think YWBU to persist in asking the pharmacist, no means no. Besides, Pharmacists are far far far more qualified in their field than GPs (Jack of all trades) and we often had poorly written prescriptions from GPs who were a liability!

With regards to buying the OTC meds, that was a fair bit to be buying all at once (although there are a lot of you poorly!) but I expect the worry for the Pharmacist was the antihistamines which are often used for their drowsy making side effects which is not really what they're licensed for. If you've any DC under 6 , the pharmacist would have been worried you were dosing up your DCs to get a good nights sleep (not saying you were by the way!) using antihistamines. There's a reason Medised was taken off the shelves, many parents were using it continuously.

Hope you all get better soon

Also, my advice is to find a pharmacy you like and stick to it, build up a relationship with them. Patient info isn't shared over a network like it is on NHS so using the same pharmacy is more helpful for both of you and they're more likely to trust you on stuff like this

I do wish pharmacist's had more autonomy with regards to what drugs were prescribed, etc. It would make everyone's life a lot easier!

Also, you can mix up your own antibiotics, in my case it was that or stay in hospital for another 6 weeks (I had already done 2 weeks at that point). However I was shown by the hospital pharmacist how to do so and sign a disclaimer saying I understood the process and was happy to take the risk as I didn't want to stay in. Also had to be supervised by my DM who is a nurse.

Totally get it op. Yanbu. Hope dd better soon.

you are kidding me we used tap water to make up our antibiotics, ie potable water. In countries without reliable drinking water, it may be different. The amount of water to be added can be fiddly and require special measures and a good eye eg 72mls which a normal kitchen measuring jug wont do. Some bottles have a fill line though for when this isn't available

OP why did you want so much antihistamine? That is probably what rung alarm bells.

I've often had unmade antibiotics. However I've also dealt with difficult pharmacists. I would often have difficulties when I requested a specific manufacturer of a medication I needed ( it cost more than the standard but I needed the expensive one for a reason).

I normally withdraw the prescription and use another pharmacist. Or take the script back when you felt she needed them.

Hope your DD feels better soon.

Yabu.

Dispensing assistants dispense. Pharmacists often have much more knowledge than Drs about different medication and should overrule or query a prescription if they want.

I'm currently taking part in a new treatment trial and am on about 4x the normal dose of a medication. Pharmacist in local chemists as rightly queried it with me. Came out and said the prescription was wrong. I was able to explain to him that it wasnt and why it wasnt. But he was right to query it and if he hadn't wanted to he could have refused to take my word for it and rang the hospital.

I've also had a pharmacist refuse to sell me over the counter meds (phernegan) because he doesn't think I should take it to help me sleep when I'm on nights. I disagree but I respect his choice and have found a less bothered chemists who sell it to me.

I too work in a pharmacy. As Shiny Silver says, its often very small and specific amounts of water that need to be added to ensure that the concentration is correct. The amount is checked by the person measuring it out and then usually double checked by the pharmacist.

We have only one patient who gets antibiotics in powdered form - the doctor specifies this on the prescription, and therefore we are happy to comply.
We would not be happy if a patient requested it and would probably phone the doctor to confirm instructions.

Legally, we can only sell a certain quantity of certain drugs such as painkillers, so you would certainly be questioned about it.

I needed one bottle of piriton for ds1 as he has multiple allergies and it works the best for him and sugar free cetirizine for dd2 as she has needed it daily for a horrible reaction to the plasters on her cannula sites.