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.

All these medicines are potentially toxic and harmful in large quantities. Indeed in the case of ab's misadministration could be counterproductive. The pharmacist couldn't know if you really had 4 kids , ill all at once or not. Why would dh not be able to get to a pharmacy in sufficient time to get the ab's if and when required.

Dh has been really ill

But if he is at home , could you not go out to get them ?

Yes yes to maidofstars also, pharmacists are likely to get a bit riled if you say the GP is "in charge!" you wouldn't believe some of the badly written scripts I've seen from "cba-to-check-ohwell-pharmacist-will-make-sure-it's-ok" GPs! Pharmacist are not GPs' pets!

Our pharmacist is excellent. He gives good advice and knows far more than the doctor about medication and dosage, because that's his speciality. He suggested a much better prescription-only medicine for me when I had problems with reflux. And he knows all the side effects of a choice of medication for raised BP, which the doctor wouldn't have had the time to explain.

There have been some cases of locum doctors mis-prescribing or making bad mistakes, with fatal results in some instances, so pharmacists are red-hot on checking what doctors order. The pharmacist had your best interests at heart, he wasn't just being a jobsworth. I'm sorry but YABU.

YANBU.

If the other pharmacist was happy to follow GP prescription, then why the interrogation at the first chemist? Original Pharmacist was being a 'jobsworth'.

YANBU!!!!! The pharmacist was right to question, but a simple explanation should have sufficed.

The replies to you on here have been incredibly patronising and some just haven't read the op. Just because you haven't heard of something, doesn't mean it doesn't happen.

I don't blame the OP as she was only doing what the GP said.

I find it odd though - surely the thing that's gone wrong here is the communication between the GP and the pharmacist. The GP says one thing, the pharmacist says it isn't possible. Surely the GP should be aware that the pharmacist might refuse to do this? Or the pharmacist should phone the GP and check the instructions?

I could but I was worried dd would need them at a time when I couldn't get out (all four dcs have been unwell so its been hectic and not easy to get out as they are in bed and if dh is not up to it I can't just leave him ill to look after them). All a bit complicated.

Luckily I do have the medicine now if it is needed and I accept maybe I was being a bit u as I did not know that the pharmacist would be accountable I assumed they just did what the gps requested.

I did ask the first pharmacist to call the gp but she wouldnt

Or second pharmacist was being idle. It's all fine until something goes wrong and they get a negligence claim against them. Ironically, it's often the fastidious ones who get more complaints and the fly by the seat of your pants ones just bumble along for years. IMO this is true for all HCPs

hedgehog sounds like you have an awful lot to deal with right now, it really would help in the long run to stick with one pharmacy. A good pharmacist who knows your family's medical issues and medications inside out will be in a much better position to help you and advise you and make your life easier, not harder, in future. All the best

We always get abs for ds in powder form. Sometimes 7 weeks worth at a time.

I do however think it is understandable to query the amounts of drugs, this would be the same if you were buying any larger quantity of medicine.

Well the pharmacist wasn't BU but I really feel for you, you must just wish something could be simple for once! Being a pharmacist is a great job but has massive implications if they get something wrong, they have every right to say no to anything they feel is unnecessary. I've had powder and distilled water to take away with syringes to help mix it up exactly in the past when DS3 had severe recurrent ear infections and we were going away BUT part of my job has me working with the GP so he knows my qualifications and that I am capable, I imagine if you have multiple unwell children your GP can trust your competence it's a shame the pharmacist doesn't know you as well. I hope everyone is as well as they can be for Christmas and you don't need anymore antibiotics. Good luck!

Your GP is unreasonable. As a healthcare service we don't do 'just in case' medicines, thats usually for people who are extremely ill or at end of life and have 'just in case' boxes full of painkillers and the like.

Pharmacist was correct to question, and it is because of things like this that have rendered so many of our antibiotics useless.

Original Pharmacist was being a 'jobsworth'

A jobsworth for rightly going out of their way to question bad practice?

the doctor should have made it clear in the script to the pharmacist to give you the powder.

yanbu

Gp was being unreasonable I think, this idea of ab's just in case doesn't wash with most people, once that prescription is in their hands, few could resist taking them in the hope they get better quicker. Thus, contributing to antibiotic resistance as the pharmacist said.

Pharmacists are amazing, their knowledge and understanding of medications is seriously impressive. They know so much more about medications than Doctors do.

I hope all your children feel better soon.

I have also had antibiotics in powder form to mix at home under the same instruction as OP. The last lot came from the hospital pharmacy. I have also been given them in the past to prepare at home when it was a long course and wouldn't have kept long enough if mixed. I was given a syringe to accurately measure the water, some of the things pharmacists do are unquestionably complicated, hence the training but adding water to powder and shaking the bottle is not one of them.

The pharmacist is legally responsible for what they dispense, therefore whatever they think is reasonable is not for you to question.

Incidentally, I have twice been made aware of problems with what a GP has prescribed by a pharmacist who has realised that the GP has cocked.

Your GP is unreasonable. As a healthcare service we don't do 'just in case' medicines, thats usually for people who are extremely ill or at end of life and have 'just in case' boxes full of painkillers and the like.

Yes, we do. The NICE guidelines for antibiotic prescribing in respiratory tract infections make explicit reference to doing so.

The guideline includes suggestions for safe methods of implementing alternatives to an immediate antibiotic prescription – including the 'delayed' antibiotic prescription.

Pharmacist is last line of checking if it's the correct drug has been prescribed. If Dr makes a mistake the pharmacist is still accountable as that's what they are being paid more money (and a degree) than a technician. To check it's pharmaceutically correct. Some will give out powder, some won't - usually has to be specified on prescription

I have regularly been given prescriptions just in case as dd suffers from febrile convulsions but never told to actually get the medicine. I don't think the pharmacy was being in any way unreasonable.