Dispenser refused to give me my medication? Is this allowed?

[elc19]

Today, I went to the chemist to pick up my repeat prescription which I need as it contains my strong antihistamines as I have chronic angiodema. Also on that prescription is some painkillers for my endometriosis.

I always collect them a few days before I run out, the dr issued then electronically a week ago. I called to ask if I'm able to collect today (pharmacy on the side of my drs) as I didn't want to go if it was busy with urgent prescriptions being issued, the receptionist said of course you can, the queue was short and all priority patients had been dealt with.

Upon arrival, the female dispenser said “No (my name) next week” I asked what she meant and she said “no next week” again.

She turned her back to me and was shaking her head and talking to the pharmacist about me whilst I explained to the female assistant that I always had these tablets and I always collected them a few day’s before I was due to run out.

I asked why again to the female assistant and she said they had been sent somewhere else. I asked why this had happened as I always collected them there and she couldn’t answer me.

The female assistant asked me if I had anyone who could pick them up next week, I explained no, my husband is a key worker working 12-14 hours a day. She then said “are you sure?” as if I was lying, by this point I was completely horrified and in shock by how I had been treated.

They dispensed my pain relief medicine and she gave me my prescriptions to collect elsewhere.

I am currently recovering from my 9th miscarriage, surgery and I’m bleeding very heavily. I had to drive to a different pharmacy and wait 20 minutes, by the time I was walking back to my car after finally getting my medication, I had bled through my clothes, I was in tears through embarrassment trying to stop blood from dripping down my legs and on to the pavement.

I feel like I've been treated unfairly, would you complain to their complaints department about this?

OP, that'd be so upsetting. And unnecessary, I'm so sorry.

Because the story doesn't add up. Name them and let them explain. I'm sure they would prefer that to you tarring the whole world of pharmacy with this brush in front of the world.

I would be really really cross and upset
There's zero reason for her to have been so rude, ask them to drop them to you next month
I'm so sorry you're in such a state
Sending love

And to all the other posters how nasty

Namechangervaver give it a rest! She’s hardly tarring the whole industry of pharmacists. Get a grip

@Namechangervaver name what to who and let them explain??? The pharmacy knew what drugs it was. Go away. Nasty and spiteful.

I think the dispenser was being very unreasonable as it isn't very clear what she meant.. there could have been a number of reasons behind them not being able to hand out the script, it was post dated (if it was eps then it wasn't) they did not have the stock, orders have been all over the place for the last few weeks and are just not turning up, also some patients think that because the Dr said 'it will be there' then it will definitely be there. Maybe 5-10% of the time it's actually there and ready for you the other 90% dispensers are running around like crazy trying to locate a script that has f all to do with them. But back to my point, she wasn't clear with what she meant, why refuse to give it out?

I work in pharmacy and although i appreciate everybody has an opinion and frustration, it is a really bad time to be working in there. I'm also pregnant and am putting myself at risk to serve those people that 'clapped for us' that night then were absolute bastards to us the next day as per usual. I simply cannot afford to be off, i've been told i would only get SSP and that's simply not enough for me to be off.

I think we all need to work together in this situation! But sorry you had an unpleasant experience OP.

I think every single one of us is going to lose our shit.

But you can be kind to others whilst losing said shit

I think if there was ever a time to lean towards the "cut people some slack" rather than the "I'm going to make a complaint" that time is now.

I am truly sorry you have been poorly and stressed but pharmacists are people working on the front line, dealing with the public (who are more likely to have health problems). They are exposing themselves and their families to risk, horribly overworked and very stressed themselves. I expect you would appreciate it if people cut you some slack if they knew you were struggling, and it's fair to extend the same courtesy to others even if they fall short of what you expect from them.

You felt she was rude and made a mistake and caused you some inconvenience, but she didn't tell you to fuck off or throw your prescription at you (my DC works with the public and atm, some of the shit she gets, I'm sure she wants to tell people to fuck off and should be praised for not doing so )I think we all have to accept under the terrible circumstances we are all facing, we will all have more inconvenience and perhaps brisker customer service than we would like. Mistakes will be made. People are human not robots and lots are at the very ends of their tethers.

Making complaints and even more work for these people and expecting them to take precious time to soothe you and apologise, (under the circumstances you describe) is unreasonable, IMO. It's going to get worse. Things will not be the same as before. Everyone is suffering for various reasons.

Whilst I dislike all this recent Be Kind lip service virtue signalling bandwagon, realising the above and making allowances, especially for people working in the front line, is a good thing for everyone.

Yes, it sounds like this staff member wasn’t very polite - but please don’t complain. Trust me, her working day is utter hell right now.

"by this point I was completely horrified and in shock by how I had been treated"

Also (I'm not saying this to be mean as I genuinely mean it!) if you are reacting like that to someone you've had a brief conversation with and at that point your only complaint is that they were abrupt and not as polite as you would like, you need to adjust your expectations at the moment or you will make yourself more stressed.

Being "in shock" and "horrified" is an overreaction and complaining as such, is a waste of time - yours as well as theirs.

Dp has always had problems with the GPs and the chemist getting his prescription.
It has got slowly worse over the years.

Now they have an excuse to be crap they appear to be taking their crapness to the next level.

Dp ordered his repeat prescription in the first week of March. We are nearly in April and Dp will run out of insulin in the next few days.

We are not hopeful he will be able to get his insulin any time soon.

He is self isolating for the next 11 weeks.

At this rate he will be going to A&E to get insulin.

I think some people like to throw their weight around at any opportunity.
They like holding the power over people even if it is just to fill or not fill prescriptions

Wasn't boots was it? Someone's husband left a message on there website almost the same as this but it's was for morphine the dispenser would of been able to hand it out if the gp put later dates on it x

@Oliversmumsarmy So who is the problem the GP or Pharmacy? Have you thought about the item having a manufacturing problem so the pharmacy cannot get it in? 99.999999% of the time it's actually the surgery who are at fault so be careful who you slag off!

@Oliversmumsarmy I doubt anyone purposefully withholds it just to make life difficult. Has he phoned the GP to ask what's going on with it, see if it's been sent to the pharmacy? Phoned the pharmacy to see if it's there, and if so, when it will be ready? Have you been proactive at all? If it happens regularly, do you have a feeling that it might not be them at fault?

Actually, if it was ordered at the beginning of March thats nearly a month ago.. and he is yet to run out, why are you ordering so early? In this case it would not be the GP or Pharmacy at fault it would be you as you can only order up to 7 days before due.

OP, I would walk away from this thread. Mumsnet is full of people who will go out of their way to twist a situation in to something that ‘justifies’ bashing the OP. It’s a weird and perverse game. If you had presented the exact same facts as this from the assistant’a perspective, the same posters would have attacked her instead.

I think you were entitled to complain. The receptionist shouldn’t have told you to come and collect when she didn’t actually know, and the assistant shouldn’t have refused to give you your medication when it was there in front of you. Even if they were busy, it clearly wasn’t going to save them time to send you away and make you come back another time.

It also sounds like she was rude and dismissive, and she shouldn’t have been.

Hope you’re ok - look after yourself

Marieo and Sparemeasecond

The GP surgery and the chemist are both as bad as each other with one lot blaming the other for any failures.

The chemist up to about 3-4 years ago used to be excellent.
But that was when it was run by an older pharmacist who ran everything perfectly.

Unfortunately because the older pharmacist was being paid quite a lot in comparison to a newly qualified pharmacist they were made redundant and a newly qualified person was brought in but because the chemist deals with a big area they ended up having to put in 2 pharmacists in the shop.

At one point they asked the older pharmacist if they wanted their old job back as there were so many complaints but they had moved on and had another job.

Bags of medication were left on the floor then kicked about. Medication that is supposed to stay refrigerated was stacked on shelves.

Since the first whiff of Brexit dps prescription size has halved so he needs twice as many prescriptions.

We have tried the ordering within 7 days.

You end up in A&E begging for insulin. This isn’t a new thing.

The doctors don’t know what day of the week it is and the reception staff are really inappropriate and if you hand anything to them it is invariably lost so you have to factor in the fact that you have to order the same prescription 2 or 3 times before you actually get a prescription. Then it is hit and miss whether it arrives at the pharmacy

You have to order a month in advance otherwise you have no chance of getting anything as it takes them a few weeks to get their act together. Even then it is only if Dp actually goes down and runs from chemist to pharmacy and pharmacy to chemist a few times to try and find out what exactly has gone wrong that time.

Now he is self isolating for the 12 weeks so it is down to us to do the running between surgery and doctors.

Dd tried on Wednesday to no avail so I am going out later to see if I can make any head way.

We all know how it is supposed to work but for some of us the system has never worked

Just to add there have been times when the phrase

“What do you want us to do about it” has been used by both surgery and pharmacist.

A doctor dp spoke to on Friday knew nothing about the 12 week isolation ruling.

Complete news to him. Dp suspects that he thought Dp was making it all up.

As a type one diabetic, insulin being with held is sadly a common problem. Obviously unlike other medications you don’t take for example 3 equal doses a day, some days I use heavily, others not so much. As a result a 28 day prescription rarely lasts 28 days, but pharmacists sometimes refuse to dispense before 28 days despite my GP regularly attaching notes to my prescription (notes I have seen myself).

I have had to resort to going to A&E for insulin three times in the last 18 months as I didn’t have access to insulin.

@Oliversmumsarmy sounds like your pharmacy and GP are awful 🤦🏼‍♀️ i know some shite ones do exist though!

Unfortunately because the older pharmacist was being paid quite a lot in comparison to a newly qualified pharmacist they were made redundant and a newly qualified person was brought in but because the chemist deals with a big area they ended up having to put in 2 pharmacists in the shop.

How do you make someone redundant then bring another person in to do the same job? A pharmacist as well, so a very specific job with specific qualifications needed. Make it make sense. This would be age discrimination at the very least. And you were party to the ins and outs how, exactly?

@questionmarknow
Are you delicately trying to wined people up?
For the last few weeks we have been receiving a weeks worth of prescriptions EVEY DAY, that's 100's +We have to close early to try and get on top of the work. We have hardly any counter space to make up the ridiculous amount prescriptions being sent in as well as people coming to the shop with them. WE HAVE NEVER BEEN THIS BUSY! We go home drained and have to do it all the next day. Get abuse from customers, no PPE equipment to safe gard ourself. 😞

I

You have NO IDEA what you are saying

But you realise that you can move pharmacy? And even Doctors surgery, right?

All sounds very odd. I have just collected my prescription from the pharmacy. For the first time ever, I ordered everything from my surgery by email and asked for the prescription to go straight to a certain pharmacy. That was last Tuesday. I was in the supermarket anyway so called in to check they'd received it. It was all there waiting for me, exactly as I'd asked for. 3 months of HRT so hopefully I won't be needing to bother them until the worst has passed.