Pharmacist query.

[Wingedharpy]

I am on long term medication and have been for years.
I have just called in to my usual pharmacy to collect my pre-ordered medication (needed due to the pharmacies error - but that is not the issue here) and have been advised by the counter staff that I cannot have them as the Pharmacist is "out for lunch".
What is the issue here?
The meds will have been made up and bagged already and will just be sitting on the shelf with the hundreds of others waiting for collection.
The Pharmacist has already done his bit so why can't they just give them to me?
Is there something going on in Pharmacy-land that I need to know about?

It has always been the case that they aren’t allowed to dispense prescription only medicines without a pharmacist on site. It’s a pain but it’s not new and it is understandable because ultimately the buck stops with them

its a legal requirement the pharmacist has to be on site

It's a complete pain but it's true. When the pharmacist is not signed in staff cannot hand out prescriptions or sell any over the counter medicines.

It's the law. One of the many reasons a lot of community pharmacists aren't allowed a lunch break, regardless of how long they worl. It should be well advertised.

I've never met this issue before in 20 odd years of medicating - maybe I've just been lucky then.
It doesn't make sense really though as the Pharmacist is never involved in my collection process at all.
They may as well close for lunch then if they can't do anything without the Pharmacist being there.

I'd imagine there are a lot of others things they dispense/sell that are not prescription only

They may as well close for lunch then if they can't do anything without the Pharmacist being there.

They can still sell over the counter medicines, all the shelf stuff eg shampoo, tena ladies, condoms, and accept prescriptions for when the pharmacist is back.

I have never encountered the pharmacist being out to lunch, I suspect they often miss their lunch or eat in the building and pop back if needed. But I can't begrudge anyone a lunch break.

Maybe the pharmacist has to double check it before it goes out? Especially if it's painkillers or a controlled drug? I may be wrong though but it's just a thought 🤷‍♀️

My prescriptions are always double checked by the pharmacist before they hand them over.

The pharmacist doesnt need to check them before they're given out but s/he must be in the building for items to be dispensed. I have a feeling OTC medicines are the same actually. It's been a while since I worked in a pharmacy, but my local has a sign saying lunch is between 1 and 2 and no prescriptions will be dispensed at that time.

Our Co-op pharmacy always closes for lunch between 1 & 2 , I always wondered why, and now I know! Cheers!

Usually the medications are dispensed (by trained dispensers who are not pharmacists) but the pharmacist checks them before being given out.

I used to work in a pharmacy with only 1 pharmacist on duty on a Saturday. They had their lunch in the office and it was often interrupted for emergencies.

No checking by Pharmacist occurs when I go to collect.

Counter staff simply check on computer that the order has been made up by the Pharmacist and then retrieves the appropriate bag off the shelf with my name on it.

Nothing is said or shown to Pharmacist at all.

No pain killers or controlled drugs involved.

I don't begrudge anyone a lunch break either, particularly in this sort of work where an error, due to fatigue or hunger, could have serious consequences for some poor soul.

Closing for lunch at a specific time or having a sign saying don't come between these times to collect your prescription would be helpful but is not in evidence at this pharmacy.

On returning to collect pills, it was explained that usually the Pharmacist takes their lunch in the staff room which is on site but the Pharmacist had to go out for lunch today.

The law is indeed an ass if it's ok to get your pills while the Pharmacist tucks into her pot noodle, squirrelled away in a broom cupboard somewhere on the premises but you can't have them if she's nipped to the greasy spoon up the road for a kebab.

I'm sorry but I just don't believe your medicine (assuming it's P or POM marked) is dispensed without the Pharmacist checking it. Anything with P or POM marks has, by law, to be either dispensed by or under supervision of the Pharmacist.
The consequences for the Pharmacist for not doing so would be far greater than your inconvenience. Just because you may not see it happen doesn't make it so.

This is pre-ordered medication @kamelo.
Of course the medication is dispensed and checked by a Pharmacist, but all that has been done before I go to the pharmacy.
Once their dispensing and checking systems are completed, the medication is put in a bag (presumably by the dispenser) and the bag is sealed with a sticker with my name, address etc on it to seal it.
The made up bags of meds are then put into a pidgeon hole type shelving system.
I arrive, ask for my meds, my details are confirmed and counter assistant hands me my bag of meds from 3 yards away.
The issue is/was, the handing over of the bag is not allowed unless the Pharmacist is on the premises - even though, no-one will open the bag again to check contents etc.
Madness!
Anyway, I've now got my meds and have slept on this.
If it only happens once every 20 years, I will cope.!

This has always been the case. No prescriptions can be given out and they cannot sell any pharmacy only medicines. I worked in a pharmacy years ago and this was always the rules. We used to have a lot of Muslim pharmacists who would go out the back to pray at certain times. Many a time I was screamed at because people couldn't pick up their preordered prescriptions.

It's a bit mad that you can only have your medication handed over in a pharmacy if the pharmacist is there, yet I can have the same medication delivered to my local post office where it is then handed over to me by the woman selling me some stamps.

@toomuchfaster they are allowed a lunch break - they are just asked to stay on site for it and if they have to pop out, to keep the time off site to a minimum.

Pharmacy iv worked in - pharmacist usually takes lunch on premises for this reason

@KnifeAngel I'm sorry you were screamed at and can assure you that I screamed at no-one yesterday.
I was very British and didn't even tut!
I appreciated that the counter staff weren't being difficult or arsey, they were just following the rules.
The rules, however, need changing.
There may have been a need for this system, for some reason, in days of yore but what is the argument for it now?
It needs looking at and amending.

I don't agree that it needs to be changed. I work in primary care and obviously we have our own checks and balances but they are far outweighed by the number of checks done at pharmacy level.
It's absolutely vital and it saves lives. It shouldn't be watered down.