To complain about this?

[EspressoPatronumm]

A random man turned up at my house on Saturday morning carrying a bag of medication he got given from the pharmacy in the village where I live. He was given a paper bag of medication with his name on the front and all my medication inside.

All my medications for the month, with my address, date of birth and full name they had been packaged up, and then someone else's name put on the front and given to him.

He got home opened the bag up and realised they weren't his, so walked them round to me on Saturday.

I know it's not a massive problem because I have my medication now, but it just isn't right.

Would you complain?

[vodkaredbullgirl]

Yes I would complain, it's a good job he came round with it. Just hope he got his medication sorted too.

[EspressoPatronumm]

@vodkaredbullgirl

that's the awful thing about it, I don't think he can have done because the pharmacy is closed at the weekend in the village and it's a bank holiday.

Also there's so much in the bag I hope he didn't pay!

[FurryDandelionSeekingMissile]

Hell yes. So much wrong with this — the violation of your privacy in an area that's supposed to uphold the highest standards of confidentiality, the risk of someone taking drugs that were for someone else (not everyone can easily read the labels, and some drugs can be tempting for people), the fact that there should be protocols in place that mean this doesn't happen even if a person makes an error when distracted or rushed, even just the potential wasted money on a bagful of drugs that might never have got to you.

[FurryDandelionSeekingMissile]

Oh and as the other poster pointed out, him not getting the drugs he needed too.

[Kerrrmieee]

Absolutely complain!

That's a monumental fuck up on the pharmacies part. GDPR wise and meds going AWOL wise.

I know it's ended well, but you really do need to make a complaint so that they can look into what happened that day, and fire or retrain accordingly.

[dizzydizzydizzy]

Definitely complain.

I was given somebody else's medication too. Same name but different address. Luckily I noticed before I had left the chemist.

[FurryDandelionSeekingMissile]

I meant "Hell yes, I would complain", not "Hell yes, you are being unreasonable", obviously

Though don't be surprised if, when you complain, you get blank looks and a bland assurance of some kind, as though you've complained that there's an unpleasant mark on their floor.

[Helgadaley]

Absolutely complain. Our pharmacy always ask people to confirm their address before they hand over medication. It's a monumental error and the pharmacy needs to put systems in place to make sure that it never happens again.

[ThinWomansBrain]

Yes. complain - that's a serious breach of comfidentiality.

I used to be a bit concerned about having to give address, DOB in public at the local pharmacy - now they recognise me and don't even ask, in it's way equally worrying, but no slip ups so far.

[EspressoPatronumm]

@Helgadaley yes so does this one but as it had his name and address on the sticker on the outside of the bag it was correct when he gave his!

The more I think about this the worse I feel. I've found him on Facebook and he's 79! He could have just assumed it was his and taken them! I mean I know I wouldn't second guess the contents of a bag from a pharmacy.

There is also the fact I'm recovering from major surgery and I had a massive amount of painkillers prescribed because of the type of surgery, I've checked on the app for my drs and it says 'prescribed and sent to pharmacy' and then 'patient collected' so if he hadn't come round with them I wouldn't have been able to re order them because it says on the system I went and got them!

I was going to send DH round on Tuesday as I'm still too unwell to walk the short distance to the pharmacy.

It's a small pharmacy where the pharmacist and staff genuinely do know most of the patients im sure as it is a very small village.

I've looked at his name and it's the same initial of the last name as mine but the rest is entirely different.

So

mine is

E##### S#####

And his is

J#### S#######

So not remotely the same, if I was Joan smith and he was John smith I could slightly understand but it's not so I cant.

I'm going to go in on Tuesday and have a word with the pharmacist, and then I will speak to head office because these things really shouldn't happen

[EspressoPatronumm]

@Kerrrmieee yes it was when I was reading the responses I realised that even though it's ended well it really could have gone so wrong.

[FaazoHuyzeoSix]

Absolutely yes you should complain. It'solof sheer random good luck that the other person involved in this mistake happened to be a kind and honest soul. Many others might have dumped the unwanted medication leaving you stuck, an opportunist activwly dishonest person might take advantage of having you person info to exploit for fraudulent gaIn. Thos is serious. Make it clear in your complaint that its not about seeking an apology which doesn't change anything, but wanting to know how such a mistake is going to be prevented in future.

[ChampagneCamping]

it happens occasionally because the pharmacists are human rather then robot BUT it’s important to let the pharmacist and head office know so that they can review and tighten up their internal processes. This could have been much more serious, so good job he spotted the fault.

[DatingIsDifficult]

Isn’t there an online form to fill in on the UK pharmacist website for stuff like this? I wouldn’t go straight to the actual pharmacy and complain verbally, I’d do it officially on this form then there’s a written record.

[StridTheKiller]

Fuck! Yes complain! I'd be mortified by this and not much bothers me. Isnt there a GDPR Ombudsman? They take shit like this very seriously.

[TabithaTittlemouse]

That’s a major fuck up. Definitely complain.

[donttellmehesalive]

I would tell them that it had happened, yes. As you say, it could have had serious consequences and they need to know if someone didn't follow correct procedures or if procedures need to change to reduce the likelihood of it happening again.

I am not sure I would be as cross as some pp on here seem to be. It was not malicious, it was human error and we are all capable of it. If I messed up at work I would be mortified and hope that people weren't too angry in their interactions with me.

[properdoughnut]

He could have just assumed it was his and taken them! this. He could be dead. They need to know and the pharmacist should file a report. They should probably also offer to replace all the meds for you especially if they are ones that need storing at the right temperature.

[Footle]

@properdoughnut , replace a load of unopened meds? What on earth for?

[loislovesstewie]

Please complain, my son was given another persons insulin once. Completely the wrong type , correct name but wrong address. I don't know what the effects would have been if he had used it without looking. The pharmacist was mortified.

[NotAHouse]

Is it Kamsons?

[vjg13]

Yes, complain to the pharmacy and your local PCT. My local pharmacy prescribed incorrect medication and I escalated it to the PCT. It wasn't the first complaint. They are still open (I no longer use this branch) so presumably have reviewed their checking procedures.

[EspressoPatronumm]

@NotAHouse no it's well

[Eeiliethya]

I used to work in community pharmacy and you should complain - the staff need to put mitigating measures in place to make sure this doesn't happen again. It's a potentially dangerous error.

They were lucky the man realised the mistake and they didn't hand it to somebody with sight issues that could have resulted in them taking the incorrect medication.

You should let them know for their own continuous improvement.

[EspressoPatronumm]

I've decided I'm going to walk over tomorrow after my blood test and have a word. Should I put my medication back in the bag and take it over as it was when I was given it? Or just paper bag with his name on it