Pharmacy will not allow one parent and two children in

[Lardlizard]

Does this seem like madness to you ?

Common sense seems to go out the window with some power hungry people these days.

Anyway whilst not in UK, our GP emails pharmacy pdf of any scripts we need. Pharmacist calls or emails us when ready to collect, asks if there is anything else we need, wink... and we let them know when we are there and they bring it to the door. All paid for over the phone by card.

And they do free delivery too if required. But I'd rather leave that for those who cannot go to the pharmacy themselves.

Common sense, keep your customer satisfied.

I'm sorry to hear of this, but it is an attitude thing rather than you being singled out I think.

Honestly... there are not so many single parents, mostly people trying to bend the rules, get their way and therefore making life miserable for those of us who are really single parents
What a win for them!! Getting to take their kids in the chemist!

(Sarcastic)

@cologne4711

Completely stupid, but then pharmacists haven't exactly been the heroes of lockdown with their over the top restrictions, telling people a pregnancy test wasn't "essential" and in the case of Boots, taping off aisles (mind you, that's becoming mainstream in Wales as of today).

If it was Lloyds they are a chain, so there is a complaints mechanism. One reason why chains are better than independents which can do what they like without accountability.

As a pp said, they could have offered to serve at shop door if they were really tiny and there was genuinely no room for 3 people plus shop staff.

You have absolutely no idea of the pressures pharmacy teams have been under and it is getting worse by the day in the NW. Massive increase in volume of prescriptions (many of which never get picked up - making storage an issue and therefore finding scripts), dealing with angry patients who cannot access GP services, sorting emergency prescriptions, dealing with the busiest flu vaccination season we have known, dealing with stock shortages - all this with a depleted workforce (symptomatic, self-isolation, children sent home, test & trace etc) and underfunding. Just keeping the doors open (when the rest of primary care have closed theirs) has been been incredibly challenging.

Whilst most of our patients have been lovely we have been told by patients that they hope we catch Covid and die, we have been spat on, coughed on and abused on a daily basis - mostly for reasons that are absolutely not our fault.

Patient refusal to wear a mask (fine if a patient is exempt, but most either don't believe or have just forgotten - they tell us this) is putting our teams at risk - even when asked getting a patient to stand behind a screen is near on bloody impossible.

We are all absolutely exhausted.

And to add - we turn up to work on a daily basis with a smile on our face and wanting to do our absolute best to support our very deprived community.

So instead of moaning because you can't get to the shampoo why not say just say thank you - it means more to us than you will ever know.

Acerred

Yes, of course. It's discrimination not to protect as many people as possible from Covid by making sure the pharmacy is not overcrowded. Find a pharmacy which is not as busy or get your meds delivered online.

Covid has brought out the very, very worst in some people.

@SteeperThanHell

And to add - we turn up to work on a daily basis with a smile on our face and wanting to do our absolute best to support our very deprived community.

So instead of moaning because you can't get to the shampoo why not say just say thank you - it means more to us than you will ever know.

Well said @SteeperThanHell

The reason people don't think of pharmacies as heroes is because they get overlooked. They are not NHS but people don't realise the amount of work involved for pharmacists and dispensers. If anything pharmacists have become GP's throughout this pandemic with the amount of face to face advice they have had to give. The doors haven't closed on pharmacies they have been there for the public throughout.

@PatriciaPerch

Whilst most of our patients have been lovely we have been told by patients that they hope we catch Covid and die, we have been spat on, coughed on and abused on a daily basis - mostly for reasons that are absolutely not our fault.

this happens to my Mum regular too. It doesn't mean this woman should have been treated like that and you know that as well :(

I was responding to the post I quoted not to the OP.

@SteeperThanHell , we are in the west Midlands and are also bloody exhausted, the sheer volume of work has gone through the roof at a time when staffing is so variable due to all the things you mention.

Life was going to be quieter, with more jobs under threat from online pharmacies... we have found exactly the opposite during covid, people are signing up to local pharmacies in droves.

Thank you @user675761 - I’ve been working as a pharmacist for more years than I would like to say - but the last six months have brought me and my colleagues to the edge of what we can cope with.

We can only see it getting worse as COVID cases increase and winter pressure arrive.

We have a contract with the NHS and 95% of our income is providing NHS services.

Of course the lady should have been treated differently - we only allow a small number of people in the pharmacy, but have systems in place to ensure we can support all our patients.

@SteeperThanHell
Although you have a contract with the NHS you don't get the same recognition as a doctor or nurse, pharmacists seem to get overlooked.
So to all the pharmacy workers, thank you for all your hard work during this pandemic

@user675761 you are spot on there. We don’t get the same recognition (or NHS pension - not bitter at all).

For every person moaning about over the top restrictions - ask yourself would you want to work frontline in a community pharmacy at the moment where every other patient walking through the door has a cough?

With this particular lady, she was like this pre Covid, as when I went to get the headlice treatment, and she was rude didn’t want to sell it, and said incorrectly that you don’t need two bottles as you only need to apply it to the roots that was about a year ago so before Covid

of course the ajority are helpful and nice but there was n need to behave tha way to the mum they cold have politely said can you wait at the door or something

you can leave young kids alone