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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

in thinking that pharmacists should check the prescription before handing you the medicine?

84 replies

DaffoDeffo · 03/12/2018 09:56

I have had my inhalers changed as my asthma as got worse. Luckily for me I know exactly what each inhaler looks like and I know what the pills look like as I've had them several times.

I went and picked up my prescription and didn't open it till I got home. I had 2 inhalers plus pills and the chemist (I don't want to name them but a big chain) had got every item wrong. The 2 inhalers they had given me were completely the wrong dose (far lower than I had been prescribed) and the pills were the wrong ones.

Tbh I am not sure I would have checked thoroughly (the dose for example) if it wasn't for the fact that I'm familiar with what these medicines look like.

My children are both asthmatic and pick up their own prescriptions and tbh I'm not sure they would know on sight that their medication was wrong. It also makes me worry for my elderly relatives who I also think probably don't check their items against the prescription.

Is it asking too much that they actually bloody check what they hand over to you?

Is this a common thing that they get this sort of thing wrong?

OP posts:
DGRossetti · 03/12/2018 10:38

YANBU - but pressure, cuts, etc Sad

What really gets my rage is the incorrectly dispensed medicines will have to be thrown away. And whilst I try to be a lovely, laid back, go with the groove post millennial type of chap, the one thing which makes me rage is that sort of casual waste when there are people in other countries dying from a lack of medication.

Is this a common thing that they get this sort of thing wrong?

Happened to me, and DW on two occasions in the past 5 years. It's one of the few things I contacted my MP about.

TheChickenOfTruth · 03/12/2018 10:46

Take them back to the shop and flag it.

There should always be one person dispensing the medication and one person checking so this should never happen. It's incredibly hard to pass the checking courses so they really need to look at their processes if mistakes like this are slipping through.

Original poster
DaffoDeffo · 03/12/2018 10:51

I went back

they were horrified and apologetic but neither of them could have checked (and one had dispensed and the other checked)

I understand mistakes happen but this was pure laziness - they had both signed the little dispensing thing but they must have signed without looking

OP posts:
Original poster
DaffoDeffo · 03/12/2018 11:03

DG didn't realise they have to throw away the medicine. That actually makes me even more cross fgs.

OP posts:
DGRossetti · 03/12/2018 11:12

didn't realise they have to throw away the medicine.

Yup. Once dispensed, it can't be returned. Irrespective of cost. While I can appreciate the massive issues around trying to run a foodbank type system for such medicines, it seems immoral when you know there are people literally dying around the world for lack of medicines. It's even worse than wasting food in my opinion.

I don't know about the rest of the UK, but here, they've not done a bad job of integrating GPs and pharmacies so that prescriptions are passed electronically - there's no excuse for misreading some dodgy handwriting. (Which raises the question of how long before we get some sort of automatic fulfilment ... a shelving unit being crawled by a little robotic basket and drawers popping open to dispense a box of tablets .... )

WinterfellWench · 03/12/2018 11:15

If this is Boots, it doesn't surprise me in the least.

2 out of 3 times I go into mine, there is something they don't have (I pick stuff up for a couple of elderly family members, and an elderly neighbour too, as well as myself and DH.) Also, I have been given the wrong stuff several times too. One time it was meant to be naproxen for my neighbour, and it was bloody sleeping tablets! (temazepan.)

I have also left a prescription with them for something needed soon (like anti biotics or a cream or medicine that the doctor has said 'start immediately,) and they say 'we will order it for tomorrow.' Then it doesn't come the next day, and they say they can't get it. Hmm

So you end up running around town - and other towns - trying to find the bloody stuff.

Boots are bloody useless IMO. Apart from not having the stuff more than half the time, I sometimes see one girl serving on the 'regular counter' and 2 women on the pharmacy, yakking away, and not even serving anyone! I find some of their staff rude and lazy.

They are sometimes a necessary evil though, as our only other pharmacy is closed from Friday afternoon til Tuesday morning. Many people in our little town (and the surrounding villages) stock up so they have at LEAST a month surplus meds, because it can be quite hard to get stuff.

DGRossetti · 03/12/2018 11:19

Seems it's not a big deal.

Oh, hang on ...

www.independent.co.uk/news/health/nhs-medication-errors-deaths-prescription-drugs-jeremy-hunt-york-university-health-a8224226.html

The NHS makes hundreds of millions of prescribing errors and mix-ups which contribute to as many as 22,300 deaths a year, according to a major report commissioned by the Government.

Errors include failures to properly monitor patients on powerful drugs, poor communication between GPs and hospitals, and giving patients the wrong medication.

(contd).

Just in case anyone tries to brush the OP off with a tinkly little laugh ....

Frozenteatowel · 03/12/2018 11:19

I’ve started to open up the bag before leaving the chemist now as there have been so many mistakes over the last few years - once got someone else’s medication with their name on; cream HRT instead of tablets I’ve been on for 4 years; wrong half of repeat prescription etc etc. It’s ok because I’m able to check and sort it out but fear for those who have poor eye sight, communication difficulties or dementia etc. It’s reallt frightening

Original poster
DaffoDeffo · 03/12/2018 11:31

my goodness that's a lot of deaths DG

good idea, I am going to start opening the bag up before I leave

one thing though, the prescription wasn't in the bag. If I hadn't known what I was getting, I wouldn't have known it was wrong! I just realised that now - I only knew it was wrong as I was getting one inhaler that i already had at a higher strength and then another inhaler with a different method of inhaler (a sucking one rather than one you press)...

do you normally get the prescription back with the bag? I don't think you do...

OP posts:
Frozenteatowel · 03/12/2018 12:57

I always get a print out of everythIsn’t on repeat when I collect anythIng

Frozenteatowel · 03/12/2018 12:58

Of everything on repeat that should say.

gigglingHyena · 03/12/2018 23:50

My pharmacy now open the bag and show you the contents for you to check before handing it over. I'm not sure I'd spot the wrong dose/strength but I'm sure they must catch a few mistakes.

I've had quite a few occasions where the wrong items from my repeat prescription have been issued, although to be fair that's not the fault of the pharmacy but the check first system at least means they can take them back if they are wrong.

RollerJed · 04/12/2018 00:37

Just in case anyone tries to brush the OP off with a tinkly little laugh ....

@DGRossetti I've been waiting for the pile on defending the NHS and berating the OP, thanks for adding this.

tor8181 · 04/12/2018 03:36

over 9 years ago now but i was on clomid fertility drugs and the chemist give me 6 months supply of the contraceptive pill instead

i took it home without checking as it was sealed with a sticker and went to take it in the night and noticed the box was different,i googled the name(never been on the pill before so had no idea)

the next day i went mental as by this point i was ttc for 3 and half years and was fuming that i could have potentially messed up 6 months

got my 6 months supply the same day and with thats months supply i got pregnant

according the them the mix up was ive been given this pill before and it was on my record but they had no answer when i told them ive never taken the contraceptive pill before

Ceilingrose · 04/12/2018 08:43

I was nearly given a prescription for someone else of the same last name. I had to point out it was t mine, and they were quite surprised.

I think I read somewhere that there is a severe shortage of pharmacists.

DGRossetti · 04/12/2018 09:07

I think I read somewhere that there is a severe shortage of pharmacists

Maybe thank the Leavers ?

www.chemistanddruggist.co.uk/feature/how-has-brexit-changed-lives-european-pharmacists-uk

The number of European pharmacists working in the UK has fallen since the Brexit vote. C+D asks them how the referendum result has affected their lives – and their future

On the morning of June 24, 2016, thousands of European community pharmacists across the UK awoke to a radically altered political landscape. The result of the Brexit referendum meant freedom of movement of EU citizens and their right to live and work in the country would no longer be guaranteed.

^European pharmacists say the vote, and the uncertainty that remains just five months from the date the UK is scheduled to leave the EU, is forcing them to question whether they should stay.
What do the numbers say?^

There are currently 3,319 EEA pharmacists on the register, making up 6% of the total pharmacist workforce of 55,207. But the current figure marks a 9% drop in the number of European pharmacists from its November 2016 peak of 3,652, following a five-year climb.

(contd)

One reason why the Health Secretary refused to guarantee no deaths from a no-deal Brexit.

Satsumaeater · 04/12/2018 09:07

Astonishing, yet they find time to check if someone is showing a pregnancy bump and refuse to sell them a straight-forward OTC medicine. Priorities.

Satsumaeater · 04/12/2018 09:09

If there is a shortage of pharmacists, sounds like those whose dc are good at science have at least one guaranteed job they can go for (though the degree and training are very demanding).

Puggles123 · 04/12/2018 09:11

They absolutely should be checking. I worked as a dispenser before University, and our policy was that everything needed to be double checked (dispenser would put the prescription together, print the lablels- and then the pharmacist would check them all). This caught a few errors now and then as everyone is human, but thankfully this meant these errors were caught before the patient picked them up. Legally a pharmacist can make it up and check it (hence the same signature in both boxes), but this is not good practice, even when when pharmacies are busy. I always check when I pick it up on the premises in front of them, which is possibly rude but it means if it’s wrong the meds can be used again- shouldn’t have to be the case though!

Caprisunorange · 04/12/2018 09:16

Well that’s exactly why a pharmacist is so highly qualified, to check the medication. It’s absolutely nothing to do with government cuts.

I used to work as a pharmacy assistant for the most popular chain and pharmacists were very hit and miss, especially locums. It is/ was a bit of an aging population and the older ones were also often a bit ropey. That said, many times we had good ones who picked up on GPS prescribing incorrect and dangerous medications for patients!

endofthelinefinally · 04/12/2018 09:17

I open the bag in the pharmacy and check everything.
9 times out of 10 there is an error.

Dungeondragon15 · 04/12/2018 09:17

Obviously they should check the prescription and I'm sure they did. Seems very odd and actually highly unlikely that they "got every item wrong". Did you actually check that the prescription was correct ie. had been changed or are you just assuming that the pharmacist is at fault. Take everything back and find out what has happened.

Caprisunorange · 04/12/2018 09:18

To be fair, retail pharmacist isn’t a great job. The hours are long and the pay isn’t good. When you consider how highly qualified and educated these people are it’s easy to see why they don’t chose retail pharmacy. The job needs a major overhaul

jenthelibrarian · 04/12/2018 09:19

It is really easy to make a complaint against a pharmacy. I did it online and to my amazement an inspector was sent in within days. The pharmacist was given a warning, although no further action was taken.

www.pharmacyregulation.org/raising-concerns

Caprisunorange · 04/12/2018 09:20

Agree, I’m gobsmacked people are claiming they always have prescription errors yet have never complained