Pharmacy Jobsworth or Normal?

[bangheadhere40]

I would like opinions on this please as I've not had this in a pharmacy before.

I took time out of work today to go and pick up a prescription from the pharmacy for my husband. It was ordered online and had been signed by a doctor, all good.

When I went the lady in the pharmacy said she wasn't going to give it out as it is too early to order it again on repeat. I explained that the doctor had signed it off and she had the signed prescription ( she doesn't know my husbands medical needs). She said no she wasn't going to give me it for him and she is sending it back to the doctor and to try in a few days.

Is this normal? I always thought if the doctor had signed it then it's good to go!

Actually my best friend (GP, along with her dh) was telling me just yesterday that they'll often be looking at their phone as the I can't remember its name Formulary is on an App/On-line nowadays So when your GP gets out their phone, don't think that they are being rude!

(One of her kids is a pharmacist )

Pretty, I’m prepared to talk to anyone, what I am not prepared to do is drop everything I’m doing that instant to placate unreasonable people.

As mentioned before I do not have a magic batphone to the doctor, I have to go through the same channels as everyone else. This means issues can take several hours, even days to resolve. Unfortunately this isn’t good enough for some people.

UPDATE!!! The nice lady in the dispensary who OH spoke to last night has now phoned him back. She has spoken to the Dr on his behalf and the doctor said it's fine for him to have it. It's now back at the same pharmacy to collect

TRANSLATION!!! The doctor spoke to the pharmacist.

This wasn’t a case of the OP’s husband being left without medication, or having to go away without enough to last till home again. He wasn’t going to run short.

This was someone trying to get a controlled drug earlier than they needed to. People do this for various reasons, including inadvertent overdoses, or stockpiling for a planned overdose, or because they are selling the drug.

The pharmacist has now clarified the situation with the GP, and the pharmacist is satisfied that the medication can be issued.

How do you know the pharmacist didn’t later communicate with the GP?

I’ve had this happen with the receptionist at the doctors surgery refusing to order my script a bit earlier than normal. But never the chemist. In fact, our chemist is so used to our orders and delivery’s we usually ring hem before ordering the script and can have the stuff before they get it. It’s really handy and nice of them.

I had this with my cancer meds. Was so angry and complained to the pharmacy. Have also moved to an online pharmacy and they are so much better and delivered to my door without having to explain to a busy body why I need my meds

The pharmacist is NOT a jobsworth or busy body.
They do know more than a doctor and it is their job to check stuff. They are able to override the doctor.

@Sue563 how is the pharmacist "a busybody"?? Have you read any of the posts on this thread explained what the role and responsibilities of a pharmacist actually are?

@justintimberlakesfishwife did I say the pharmacist turned me down. No it was someone behind the till who despite my doctor signing off that I was allowed the pain meds for my palliative cancer said that I wasn’t due them yet. Just would have helped if they spoke to me about it rather than making assumptions

It isn't so simple as just checking with the GP though. In our pharmacy we deal with 6-7 surgeries regularly. Some will allow queries between 2-4pm some after 12 some only want us to fax queries over. That's all just to speak to a receptionist, the GP is often busy with surgery. We deal with these type of queries all day every day it just isn't possible to speak to the GP in every situation - no one would get their medication. We try our best to sort out as many issues like this but we can't always do so.

We regularly get perscriptions that are poorly written by perscribers, I had one the other day where the GP had decided halfway through they were changing the medication from tablets to liquid, but then didn't give the strength of the liquid or how much the patient was supposed to take. Luckily they had included it on the notes on the PC and the receptionist I spoke to was able to help, if I needed to wait for the GP I could have been waiting until the following day.

There are so many rules and regulations in place, just because the GP has issued a prescription it doesn't mean the pharmacy can dispense it. It is literally our job to check.

“Someone behind the till” wouldn’t have been dispensing your medicine, Sue

@headintheclouds I was just pointing out that if there had been a bit of better communication from their part. When we complained to the pharmacy manager they said there was no reason it should have been dispensed in that day. It hadn’t even been presented to the pharmacist

Have not read through full thread but when I was on Roac, they were very tight about when they could and couldn't prescribe it (and you had to go to the hospital pharmacy only, no local chemist) and you only had 7 days to fulfill the prescription,, - some meds are just v tightly controlled.

@Sue563 that's not what happened in this situation. It was a pharmacist following correct protocol. In your case there are clearly serious issues if the shop assistant was making those decisions and of course you should complain. That wasn't really clear in your post though.

I hate the way that people on mumsnet who have no idea how vital decent prescribed pain relief is to cancer patients (and others) is are so quick to be sanctimonious about what should be "allowed" us, Sue563, so I sympathise.

Fortunately, my pharmacist and doctors' surgery work pretty well together, so I can generally get what I need, but it is a stress that you can really do without when you're in pain.

I've had this our pharmacy has an app you can use to reorder medication but you are only allowed to do it when you have a weeks supply left. I did it earlier before I realised this as I live in a rural area and can't always get to the surgery easily and they rejected the repeat but sorted it all out once I emailed them.

I hate the way that people on mumsnet who have no idea how vital decent prescribed pain relief is to cancer patients (and others) is are so quick to be sanctimonious about what should be "allowed" us, Sue563, so I sympathise

@BitOfFun - I so agree with this statement.

The reason he was asking early is because he happened to have finished his work early and popped in to save making a specific trip on the Saturday.

Crazy rules.

So damn crazy to follow procedure rather than give way to your husband’s convenience and weekend plans.

I hate the way that people on mumsnet who have no idea how vital decent prescribed pain relief is to cancer patients (and others) is are so quick to be sanctimonious about what should be "allowed" us,

I completely agree with this.

‘I hate the way that people on mumsnet who have no idea how vital decent prescribed pain relief is to cancer patients (and others) is are so quick to be sanctimonious about what should be "allowed" us,’

It’s not a case of being ‘allowed’ anything, it’s that there are strict regulations governing controlled drugs that prescribers and pharmacists have to adhere to (if you want a bit of light reading google the Misuse of Drugs act 1971 and the Medicines Act 1968).

If these drugs are being issued with questionable frequently or at potentially harmful doses then the pharmacist has the right to withhold the medication until the issue is resolved (which can take time depending on the surgery workload). There is nothing sanctimonious about it.

I understand that this may not fit in with an individuals plans for that week/day but there is no need for anyone to be calling a pharmacist a ‘jobsworth’, ‘busy body’ or as someone else so nicely put a ‘nazi’. It’s simply ensuring that nobody is harmed by powerful and potentially addictive medication. We aren’t counting sweets!

and to be honest yes I would trust the GP who has my entire medical history in front of them to decide what medication I can and can't have, not a pharmacist I have never met before, in the grand hierarchy of things.

Not a clue.
Not.a.clue.

OP if you wanted people to say “oh YANBU hun” you came to the wrong place.

Pharmacists are definitely responsible and should take this responsibility seriously. Sounds like you have a good pharamacist.

I’m on a medical trial and I’m on a dose of drugs which is 4x higher than what the BNF says should be prescribed. My local pharmacist rang my consultant before he’d dispense the drugs as he was convinced it was an error and didn’t believe me when I said it wasn’t. He’s still quite grumpy with me every time I pick the meds up and says he’s concerned the dose might kill me. 😄

But I also agree that you should be able to pick stuff up a few days earlier to save making a special trip. The records should show if someone is regularly getting stuff a week or so early every time which could suggest over use. So look at a period of time and see if they had the right amount of medication or too much?

If the pharmacist was at lunch the assistant shouldn't have been handing out prescriptions anyway.