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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Pharmacy shut due to staff shortage

120 replies

user64728811 · 02/09/2021 20:06

My local pharmacy closed early today at 4pm instead of 6pm due to staff shortage. Apparently another customer who arrived at the same time as me told me this is happening fairly often at the moment.
I was due to collect my prescription today and couldn't due to them been closed.
AIBU to think that this is poor that people are unable to collect medication that may be urgent and that they should not be allowed to pick their open/close times?

OP posts:
Lovinghannah · 02/09/2021 20:15

It keeps happening this week in ours. I don't know why. Do pharmacists still have to isolate? I know GPS do.

DuckDuckGooses · 02/09/2021 20:22

YABU to think they are just picking the opening times, if they're having to shut due to staff shortages! It's happening a lot with people still isolating / being unwell. If there's no staff there's no staff, they could stay open until 6pm nut no one would be there to give you the prescription 

Zarene · 02/09/2021 20:23

If they have no staff there, what do you expect them to do?

PinkBallPit · 02/09/2021 20:25

If they have no staff, who do you think is going to dispense your medication? If they don't have a pharmacist, who is going to take responsibility for making sure your prescription is correct and safe?

They're not closing for fun ffs.

Ughmaybenot · 02/09/2021 20:25

They’re hardly just picking times at random. What exactly do you want them to do if there is no pharmacist available? Come on, think on it a little.

Original poster
user64728811 · 02/09/2021 20:25

@Lovinghannah

It keeps happening this week in ours. I don't know why. Do pharmacists still have to isolate? I know GPS do.
It's not due to covid the staff shortage, its because two staff members left a month ago and have not been replaced, so they now have two assistants instead of 4.
OP posts:
woodfort · 02/09/2021 20:26

Well it’s not great but if they don’t have the staff to open then what exactly do you propose?

Original poster
user64728811 · 02/09/2021 20:30

@Ughmaybenot

They’re hardly just picking times at random. What exactly do you want them to do if there is no pharmacist available? Come on, think on it a little.
Thats the thing though they are picking random times, if they had a notice on the door that said for the next 2 weeks we will be doing say 10-4 people would know to pick up their prescriptions, but instead they choose on the day what hours they work.
OP posts:
Danikm151 · 02/09/2021 20:30

They are there to provide a service and should give notice if they are shut, especially if the prescription has been sent digitally over

BIWI · 02/09/2021 20:31

Look up 'entitlement'

WTFisNext · 02/09/2021 20:32

YABU because they can't legally dispense if the right staff aren't there, specifically the pharmacist.

If they can't get a locum pharmacist to cover there's nothing they can do.

I've been caught out by pharmacy staffing issues and it is worrying.

BernadetteRostankowskiWolowitz · 02/09/2021 20:33

What do you propose they do if they cannot staff the store?

AnguaResurgam · 02/09/2021 20:35

I think YABU as they aren't choosing this.

Yes, they should be open during their published hours, but I bet the decision not to be was not taken lightly.

Also, as individual pharmacies sometimes have to order in meds if they have none left on the shelf, a 24 hour delay isn't unusual.

You can presumably ring them up to check their hours over the next couple of days

LittleOwl153 · 02/09/2021 20:37

Problem is likely to be with the pharmacist rather than the 'shop staff'. A pharmacy is not allowed to be open without a supervising pharmacist on site I believe so if they haven't got one they have to shut.

lockdownmadnessdotcom · 02/09/2021 21:01

@BernadetteRostankowskiWolowitz

What do you propose they do if they cannot staff the store?
The OP said - set times and stick to them. We had this with the ticket office at our local railway station. They were always going off for breaks and to fill the ticket machine etc. Absolutely fine but the breaktimes should have been on the website. You had a better chance of winning the lottery than finding the ticket office open.

And pharmacies are kind of important! It is not entitled to expect to be able to collect prescriptions.

Niconacotaco · 02/09/2021 21:04

My friend is a locus pharmacist. She is getting lots of short notice calls offering shifts just now, even asking her to leave one shop at e.g. 6pm and work for another few hours at a different one. It's crazy.

BernadetteRostankowskiWolowitz · 02/09/2021 21:06

But if someone rings in sick an hour before they were due to cover the later shift then the store has to close when the earlier shift finishes if there is no one else. Sometimes these things cant be planned for.

EverybodyIsInteresting · 02/09/2021 21:09

It's happening regularly near me too. In fact one whole week they didn't collect prescriptions from the health centre, that they usually do.

What's really annoying is they don't do anything to try to let people know when they'll be open. It wouldn't be so bad of you knew you could check on their website or on Facebook, and then make arrangements to go when suited. But there's no communication at all about it.

icedcoffees · 02/09/2021 21:09

It's a pain, but now you know it's happening, can you not ring up and ask their opening times before you go? Is it on their social media, website or anything?

Lots of our local shops/restaurants have had last-minute closures recently and they publish it on their Facebook pages and on local community pages too.

MrsHuntGeneNotJeremyObviously · 02/09/2021 21:10

The OP is entitled to professional service and not for the pharmacy to randomly close with no notice. If they are short staffed because 2 staff members have left and not been replaced, it's not unreasonable to expect a professional business, who are responsible for supplying medication, to recruit more staff. Or at least keep people informed!

doingnothing · 02/09/2021 21:11

what do you expect them to do if they don’t have the staff? Serious question

TheWeatherWitch · 02/09/2021 21:12

How unreasonable of them. Clearly they should leave the door unlocked with a note telling regular customers to come and help themselves!

icedcoffees · 02/09/2021 21:13

@MrsHuntGeneNotJeremyObviously

The OP is entitled to professional service and not for the pharmacy to randomly close with no notice. If they are short staffed because 2 staff members have left and not been replaced, it's not unreasonable to expect a professional business, who are responsible for supplying medication, to recruit more staff. Or at least keep people informed!
They can't magic staff from nowhere!

If someone calls in sick or has to isolate (or whatever), what do you expect them to do?

Most places do update their opening hours on social media, Google or Facebook but you'd be surprised how many people just assume it's open as normal and don't check in advance.

EverybodyIsInteresting · 02/09/2021 21:14

@LittleOwl153

Problem is likely to be with the pharmacist rather than the 'shop staff'. A pharmacy is not allowed to be open without a supervising pharmacist on site I believe so if they haven't got one they have to shut.
Not strictly true.

They can be open. They just can't operate as a pharmacy. So most close so they don't have to tell customers that they can't actually provide them with the services they are looking for, and deal with people that are unhappy.

EverybodyIsInteresting · 02/09/2021 21:15

Most places do update their opening hours on social media, Google or Facebook

Most places? How do you know those?

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