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.

Leaping - not sure what the situation is in England but in Wales we pay for our stock at the end of each month but the NHS doesn't actually pay us back for a further three months. Expensive and unlicensed drugs can sometimes be a pain for us to claim back due to rules about how the prescription is 'endorsed' by the pharmacist.

However, to grumble about the cost of meds in front of the patient is disgusting. If the pharamcist would like to question why a medication has been prescribed they should either politely enquire (with no mention to the patient of the cost) or contact the GP directly (occasionally it transpires that the GP has no idea the meds are so expensive and just prescribed it because they have done for years without intervention). If I caught any of my pharmacists speaking to or in front of a patient as you described I would have a serious word with them and I would completely back the patient if they made a formal complaint to the Director of our chain.

Patients with a genuine need for medication should never have to worry about the cost to the pharmacy. It is up to the pharmacy itself to manage their finances correctly and ultimately they will get compensated for the total value (plus a dispensing fee) by the NHS eventually. Pharmaceutical companies on the other hand are complete bastards and charge the NHS extortionate amounts for drugs that often cost pennies to manufacture - but that's a rant for a whole other thread!

My pharmacist used to do it for my son, who needed antibiotics quite frequently. It was never a problem. We had the powder in one bottle and the liquid in another and just mixed them, shake well and you are away.

I'm not especially fussed tbh as the pharmacist did have to find £1500 worth of unlicensed tablets which our previous hospital pharmacy had to get imported from Europe with seven days till DDs current supply ran out (complicated changeover of consultants and hospitals with different procedures, plus in our area GPs are not allowed to prescribe this particular drug, so it's going to be pretty rare round here).

I'll give him the benefit of the doubt, and see how he copes with the very non-standard doseage instructions when I go to collect the tablets

V interesting to find out how it all works though, not something I've ever thought about before

It seems odd to me that Dr couldn't have soecified powder form on the prescription?!

It doesn't seem right that the pharmacist got annoyed either.

She could surely have checked with the Dr or just said that it was against oplicy/she wasn't willing to do it?

Hope that your family are better soon, OP.

only just come across this - the pharmacist should have really dispensed the bottle of antibiotic without reconstituting it, and counselled you appropriately with regards to when it should be used and how to make up correctly at home. I'm a pharmacist and that's what I'd do. So for that reason YANBU.
However, I also would have questioned the request for two bottles of Calpol, Nurofen and antihistamine. As other posters have pointed out we have to oversee sale of all Pharmacy Only meds and without questioning you, how would the pharmacist know that you have four unwell children at home? The reason why these medications are Pharmacy Only is so that they are sold with appropriate supervision and controls, alongside suitable advice as to how they should be used. Unfortunately there are parents who will use such medicines willy-nilly (I've a patient who will give her LO Calpol for a cough.............or just in case..............)
Not using Nurofen properly, say giving it to a child on an empty stomach increases the potential for a stomach ulcer (in adults and children alike), and some antihistamines, particularly the ones used for younger children have been known to be abused by parents who will use them to sedate their children at night time so they can get some sleep, rather than actually find out the underlying cause as to why their LO isn't sleeping . So on that point I would have to say that YABU.