to wonder why the NHS advert says to get your prescriptions in time for Christmas when...........

[HelenaDove]

a lot of GP surgeries wont issue them earlier. Last year i remember picking DHs one up on Christmas Eve. Previous years the 23rd. It doesnt really allow for the fact that the pharmacy might not have the particular item needed in stock. So to keep seeing this advert/public information film telling the PATIENT to make sure to get it on time is bloody annoying.

It would ease the pressure on A and E over Christmas too.

[Sirzy]

Ds was changed to a cheaper version of atrovent last year. He is 6 and it specifically said not suitable for under 16s (not a major problem as he is on a lot of meds not licensed for his age) but the fact it clearly said "not suitable for use with a spacer" was an issue! Took a lot of To and fro-ing to get the right one and a promise they would stick to atrovent in future!

[Badders123]

My dh has had an issue with his asthma meds and it's taken 2 phone calls to the dr and 2 trips to the pharmacy to sort out
They are also changing all the meds to save money - some of which dh can't take
Makes me furious

[Mehfruittea]

4 weekly means you end up with 13 cycles a year. I have 7 items in repeat, some are based on my monthly cycle for taking when I get my period etc. One has all the days printed and comes in boxes for 30 days, not 4 weeks. I end up out of sync and used to only be able to collect on a Saturday(until I changed chemist). So if I got my repeat and had to pick up again 4 weeks later, the chemist would request for me 3 days before my pickup. Drs would have 48hrs to turn around so issue script on the Friday. Then chemist would often not have my CD's and order them in. To arrive Monday. But I run out on Saturday, they are very strict indeed when issuing scripts for controlled drugs and no option for wiggle room (for good reasons). It was our local Boots and would close at 5.30 on weekdays. And I work full time so can only collect at the weekend, unless I make up some bullshit excuse to leave early. Every 4 weeks.

I prefer to set a calendar reminder for 15th of every month and order the prescription to collect from 18th onwards. I run out 22nd so have wiggle room, plus my new chemist is open till 10pm so I can collect after work.

With Boots I ended up having to go 3 Saturdays a month to pick up various drugs because we/me/dr couldn't get them in sync without breaching the restrictions on prescribing more than 1 months medication at a time. Ffs.

[KatieB55]

When I put in November script the pharmacist at Boots noticed that a repeat would be needed between Christmas and New Year and said he would put the repeat in for 23rd December - had a text yesterday to say it was ready for collection. Good service from them.

[PatricianOfAnkhMorpork]

Ivor how lucky you are to have such a fantastic system. Unfortunately that isn't the experience at most GP surgeries.

I was on medication for a couple of years, would only be prescribed one month at a time, couldn't do repeats online they had to be dropped into the surgery. Which was a massive problem as I don't work in the town I live in but an hour away and the GP doesn't open on a Saturday. Only way I could do it was to miss work to drop it in and collect it again.

I was lucky as I was only on one drug, but that was one of the reasons why I ended up coming off it (thankfully I could even if the GP didn't like it). Its a completely barking system and shouldn't be that difficult.

[HelenaDove]

YY Crashdoll Its the stress of all the running around and keeping on top of it.

[crashdoll]

Ivor it's difficult because if you're on multiple medications, they rarely finish at the same time in the 4 week cycle, so you could be phoning up all the sodding time. Sorry, I am resentful of all the time spent running around sorting out prescriptions. I'm on around 20, some of which are from the hospital pharmacy because they're injections and another of which comes from a special delivery company. Aargh. :( My GP surgery are generally quite good, although they often cock up my repeats which is annoying. It's a new thing. I guess they're under a lot of pressure. I understand their difficulties but I don't always feel that they understand how stressful and time consuming it is to be a patient with multiple, complex chronic health issues.

[IvorHughJarrs]

How is every 4 weeks more difficult Meh? Ours is like that and I find it easier, just every fourth Wednesday marked on the calendar to pop the order in. If it was monthly it could be 30 or 31 days and might fall at weekends so would be harder in my view.

Our surgery is excellent. You can order online or by phone and things are always ready within 48 hours. I rang for 1 item at 9am this morning and was told they are pushing things through in the build up to Christmas so collect it any time after 2pm. Oh, and the receptionists are all lovely. Can't complain!

[Mehfruittea]

My surgery sets the repeat for every 4 weeks, so it's really difficult to keep track of when it's due. But I am allowed to order up to 7 days before it's due. I try to do this most months so that I'm ok when I go on holiday or at xmas. I work full time and struggled to get to the chemist before it closed, so I switched to the one opposite the local walk in centre. It's open until 10pm every day and carries a wider range. I've never had a problem since I switched.

[Mulberry72]

Our surgery is great, I have a big prescription every month (10+ items and 3 lots of CD's) and our online ordering page has the facility to send a message to the surgery along with the repeat prescription so I can tell them why I need it early eg. holiday etc.

[HelenaDove]

Picked it up for DH and filled it yesterday. Something strange though. It was put in last week and the items were ticked on the repeat by DH but when i got to the surgery they said it hadnt been signed yet.

But then she went round the corner and disappeared for a while Asked me what items DH wanted. There were 9 so i couldnt list them. Then i had to tick all the items on the repeat again. Which looked to me like it had hurriedly been printed out because the little squares that you have to put the tick in were half off the paper.

Im glad DH has what he needs and i dont want to sound ungrateful. But the faff did increase the wait at the front desk. And there are some who will not be able to stand for that long.

[HelenaDove]

Yes You have to be well to cope with the stress

[Want2bSupermum]

helena I totally agree. We don't allow my dad to deal with everything because it is too stressful for him. It's the first time in his life that he has used the NHS and he has said it will be the last of he continues because he will be dead.

[goose1964]

I get mine as and when I need it,

[HelenaDove]

The amount of stress ill ppl are put through is counter productive and surely must cost the NHS more in the long run as well as costing patients themselves the taxi fares back from A and E.

[ZebraOwl]

Sirzy
My dreadful uni GP practice decided to trash my treatment plan from the hospital on the grounds it was "very unusual".

Then they wondered why I kept ending up in A&E. Honestly could have cried when idiot!GP asked me "have you always been this brittle?" followed up by "what do YOU think is causing you to keep going to A&E? are you particularly stressed at the moment?" They basically refused to believe that a consultant had devised my plan & refused to give me a supply of steroids to start as soon as I began getting ill (I deteriorate FAST) because I could just make an appointment to get some. (No, they weren't open at the weekends...)

Luckily I could get the consultant who created the plan to write to them & the change in attitude couldn't have been more marked. It was good in terms of getting the necessary treatment, but pretty sickening behaviour in general terms.


That practice was (& probably still is) dangerously bad in their approach to students. Basically, they took the approach that the only thing that could be wrong with us was stress. We all had to rely on registering as temporary patients at our home surgeries during the vacs to try to get things sorted, or go to A&E. They'd be leaving people with really severe anaemia/B12/vitamin D deficiencies etc; one friend would have died if she hadn't been persuaded they were wrong & she clearly wasn't just stressed (massive emergency surgery necessary) & indeed then blind (that time around she didn't entertain their brush-off, thankfully!); & when I went in (barely able to speak) with stone-filled almost-touching tonsils & a temperature of nearly 40 I was subjected to a lecture about it being the end of term & everyone being tired & run-down & getting coughs & colds & sore throats. I did then get asked, hugely patronisingly, why I "thought" I had tonsillitis, so I described the state of my tonsils & got a grudging "I suppose I should take a look then". I had barely opened my mouth when the eejit shoved himself away backwards in his wheelie chair & started writing up the prescription for antibiotics. Surely you examine the patient first & then if it's not tonsillitis ask them why they thought it was & do the chat about EOT etc? Ugh.

[CrohnicallyPregnant]

Thanks for reminding me! Just checked and I can order 2 of my meds now, so they'll be ready in time for Christmas (48 hour turn around at surgery, plus a day at pharmacy as they often have to order mine in, so I should be able to pick it up Friday afternoon).

The other 2 I can't order till Christmas Eve. So it won't be processed over the weekend. Then Mon and Tues are bank holidays, surgery closed, so 48 hours takes us to Friday morning. So I will have to hope that the pharmacy have it in stock or they get the order in in time to get it Friday afternoon and I can pick it up tea time.

Thankfully one med I have prescribed in 2 strengths, so I can substitute for a short time if need be. And the other I have lowered the dosage of recently so happen to have a few 'spare' tablets handy.

[Sirzy]

Yes meg, a few times. The "best" was when when the GP tried to change ds inhaler - from a very high dose of one to the lowest dose possible of another (which is the first choice inhaler generally which hadn't touched ds) thankfully the consultant is great and phoned the GP and sorted it!

[Sunnymeg]

Sirzy, I too have had multiple problems with our GP and pharmacy and now try to obtain a prescription at least a week in advance of when it is needed I order to ensure that I have medication when it is needed. Has anyone had a problem when you they were put on one medication by a consultant at the hospital and then the GP surgery has changed that medication for something else? This has happened to my husband a couple of times in the last year with his heart medication. The last time they changed it, there were contraindications for people who have had strokes (which my husband has had). The consultant was furious when DH contacted him. I realise that the NHS needs to save money, but it needs to consider what it is actually doing.

[PigletWasPoohsFriend]

Out of curiosity, how long do your repeat prescriptions take? My GP surgery/pharmacy is 7 days which I find ridiculous.

48hrs. Very very busy practice.

[Sirzy]

I can't have ds meds sent round to the chemist. The GP often makes mistakes and two of his drugs the local pharmacy doesn't stock and won't order in (cost I am guessing!?) so I have to take them to another pharmacy the other side of town. They generally need to order in some of the drugs - and won't without the prescription.

This is why I have got into a position where I can order with 2 weeks worth left

[Musicaltheatremum]

I think this is all symptomatic of the crisis that is hitting general practice. England especially has areas that are really struggling. I do add that some practices are stupid and have daft rules. Also in England a lot of practices are only allowed to give a month at a times scripts whereas we give 2 months in scotland.
There are some people however who clearly don't need their medications until mid January or beyond and are ordering really early.
I think things will just continue to get worse.
We are struggling to recruit a new GP as quite simply no one wants to do it anymore.
I signed over 200 repeat scripts today and then issued and signed another 40 or so (well between 2 of us) those 40 scripts took 2 of us over an hour to do.
I do think though that we sometimes cut off our noses to spite our faces. I did a coup,e of scripts today. Clearly people need reviewed but they won't come to any harm waiting another few weeks so I just issue the script and get the staff to get them to make an appointment in the new year.
Rant over. I do see both sides.

[HelenaDove]

Its ridiculous isnt it Rufus. Ours is up to 7 days now or so they say. Im going to try and pick DHs up this week so we shall see.

[Tobebythesea]

Out of curiosity, how long do your repeat prescriptions take? My GP surgery/pharmacy is 7 days which I find ridiculous.

[RufusTheSpartacusReindeer]

Our repeat service is now up to 7 days