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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To Be Fuming With This Pharmacy!

83 replies

NemoIsLost · 21/08/2019 16:18

I get my prescription sent electronically from my GP to Tesco pharmacy.
Almost every time there is a problem, either it's not ready when they say or theres only 1 box instead of 2 but today they surpassed themselves!
I went to collect it and after alot of faffing they said I had already collected it!
Well I havnt, they showed me the form signed for by me under 'exempt for contraception.
A. It's not a contraception!
B. It's not my signature!
The pharmacist got involved and said he doesn't know what's wrong and will investigate, but I still.have no tablets.
I need these tablets to live seizure free.
I'm so angry with them. The pharmacist is trying to get me a box by tonight. I told him I would be interested to know what's happened as someone has forged my signature and more worryingly someone may have the wrong medication!
Surely this is a serious incident for them?!

OP posts:

AnneElliott · 21/08/2019 19:56

I would say you need to complain. It's a serious error and what he said about the manager not being in til Friday suggests to me that they'll hope you'll forget about it.

BenjiB · 21/08/2019 19:59

4 5 years I collected my prescription from Lloyd’s pharmacy with no issues at all. Then they closed. I’ve had problem after problem ever since. This week I’ve driven round 8 pharmacies trying to get seizure meds which no one can get.

78percentLindt · 21/08/2019 19:59

Agreed. I think that you should complain to Tesco's superintendents Office in the first place.
Handing out meds to the wrong patient should not happen if they are following their SOPs properly. I would not complain to the store - Store Managers do not like to pass things to higher levels of the organisation.
From the sound of it, the pharmacist will investigate but it does not do any harm to make sure. Apart from anything else,there are concerns about pharmacists' workload at the moment . Unfortunately some of the chains try to keep staffing levels low and the pharmacists and pharm techs are really working under huge pressure- which is how this sort of error occurs. It might force them to look at their staffing again.

simplekindoflife · 21/08/2019 20:03

They could kill someone. That's not being dramatic, they could actually kill someone. So I'd definitely report.

EnlightenedOwl · 21/08/2019 20:04

If you pick up on my earlier message it will probably help avoid issues you definitely need to come off electronic prescribing

VincentVanGoughandhisear · 21/08/2019 20:04

Please complain. This is very serious. I'd take it up with the relevant people and also your GP practice
.

TroysMammy · 21/08/2019 20:08

I think there is a manufacturing delay with Epilim 600mg.

RonnieScotts · 21/08/2019 20:27

If they've given someone the wrong medication....what if they've given you the wrong medication. A mistake like this is so serious.

Sunflowers211 · 21/08/2019 20:49

The pharmacy needs to report this to the Police. Your GP should be able to do an Emergency Script, failing that ring 111 and tell them. They can arrange an emergency prescription to be collected out of hours.

Jinglejanglefish · 21/08/2019 21:22

I always have problems with the electronic ordering through the gp too, drives me mad. Everytime I go to collect it they act like they've not a clue what I'm talking about. I once went a week without my anti depressants for PND due to the pharmacy being crap and felt so unwell by the end. They didn't offer me an emergency prescription or give me advice on what to do without it. Grr.

Definitely complain.

Lulualla · 21/08/2019 21:57

@Sunflowers211

What are you on about? Report what to the police? It has nothing to do with the police. There are regulatory bodies who deal with this. What crime is it you think has been committed?

Original poster

NemoIsLost · 21/08/2019 22:57

I don't think the police need to be involved
I picked up my tablets, the pharmacist apologised again and said they are taking it further and will inform me of the outcome if I wanted to know. . He also said they were extremely lucky that the person who took home the wrong tablets has the sense to return them! no shit sherlock

OP posts:

goldfinchfan · 21/08/2019 23:42

by way of contrast in twenty years I have never had this problem, I use an independent pharmacy.
I had no idea how bad some pharmacies could be.
I hope the OP does make a complaint because it seems that Tesco and others are getting away with very sloppy work that could put a person's life at risk.

GibbonLover · 21/08/2019 23:52

I was given my mother's repeat prescription once, one of us is Ms. C. Gibbon, the other is Ms. G. Gibbon. The 18 year old me was most perturbed by the Estriol cream!

EnlightenedOwl · 22/08/2019 07:42

I have provided some useful advice to avoid pharmacy issues don't know if anyone is taking any notice but tried

GreenFingersWouldBeHandy · 22/08/2019 09:26

Jesus, when you're dealing with potential life-saving (and the opposite) medicines and dosages, you want a bit more than 'luck' to ensure you're getting what was prescribed for you.

Please do report to stop this happening to someone else. If might have fatal consequences.

britnay · 22/08/2019 09:29

I hope that they did not give you the tablets that had been handed out to the other person. You should have had a fresh box dispensed. The returned box should be destroyed as there is not guarantee as to the conditions in which the medicines were stored.

adaline · 22/08/2019 09:34

Did the person who wrongly gave your prescription out not do an address/postcode check?

I use Boots and although the pharmacist knows me by sight, she always asks for the first line of my address and/or my postcode before getting my prescription.

I thought that was standard when collecting medication from an electronic prescription but clearly not!

britnay · 22/08/2019 09:48

@adaline It is SOP for Boots. I'm not sure what the SOPs are for other pharmacies.

Dungeondragon15 · 22/08/2019 09:57

Thinking about it the name on the tablets must have been yours OP, so there wasn't really much chance that the wrong person would take them.

Original poster

NemoIsLost · 22/08/2019 10:05

The pharmacist said the checks were not made so it will be taken further. I always get asked my address normally....Yes i got the tablets that the person had bought back,
Even if my name was on the tablet boxes, which it is, an elderly person, or someone with Demetia may not have read the name and just taken the tablets.
Enlightenedowl I have read and taken on board your comments thank you

OP posts:

TheFaerieQueene · 22/08/2019 10:12

I’m not sure they should have given you the returned meds.

britnay · 22/08/2019 10:23

It would be going against the Deparment of Health guidelines if they had reissued the same drugs back to you after they had been given out to someone else.

"Pharmacies are obliged to accept unwanted medicines back from patients. The Department of Health (DH) however, states that medicines returned to pharmacies cannot be reissued to other patients.
The reason for this is that once the medicine has left the pharmacy, storage conditions cannot be guaranteed. Some medicines are sensitive to heat, light or moisture and can become less effective if not stored properly. It is also not possible to guarantee the quality of medicines on physical inspection alone."

Lulualla · 22/08/2019 10:48

They absolutely are not allowed to give you drugs with have already been dispensed to someone else. All returned drugs must be destroyed, even if they look perfect. They cannot give them out to anyone else.
Are you saying they didn't have any other a in stock so they gave you drugs which someone else had already taken home? They cannot do that.

LittleMissMe99 · 22/08/2019 11:13

My husband changed from our local boots pharmacy for similar reasons. He's a type 1 diabetic. He NEEDS insulin and can't risk it being messed about. We have no trouble with our new pharmacy

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