AIBU?
To complain about this?
EspressoPatronumm · 19/09/2022 04:53
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?
Binglebong · 19/09/2022 21:52
They need to be reissued because he could have tampered with them. Very unlikely but possible. As another poster said they could also have been stored incorrectly so not work properly.
This should go to the ICO for the GDPR breach (they should self report but if not you can) and I would imagine there is a pharmacist register that should know.
I fully understand that it seems overkill but this is a Never event. It's about as serious as you can get with malice aforethought. It worked out OK in this instance it could very easily not gave done - this could have killed someone.
Please OP, take the bag and contents with you and ask if they are going to self report and when will you hear what procedures they have put in place to prevent it ever happening again.
Good luck with your recovery.
Idlechitchat · 19/09/2022 21:59
I agree with others, this incident definitely needs brininging to the chemist’s attention so that they can try to put things in place to ensure it doesn’t happen again. Luckily it all worked out ok but this could have been dangerous for the man, and it’s a serious confidentiality breach.
mountainsunsets · 19/09/2022 22:04
EspressoPatronumm · 19/09/2022 20:52
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
You should take everything with you as they should dispose of it all and re-issue you brand new medication just in case.
CharlotteFlax · 19/09/2022 22:12
The pharmacy definitely need to know about the error. Think of it as you reporting it rather than making a complaint (because it sounds to me like you're worried about looking like a complainer or that you're wrong somehow.)
Definitely report it to the pharmacy ASAP
Bagzzz · 19/09/2022 22:18
You should complain because this could have had serious consequences for either or both of you. There are potential medical issues and then data protection that the person collecting might have been someone you know and now has a list of your medication and be able to guess illnesses you have.
MinnyMous · 19/09/2022 23:27
If you feel like it, you can make a complaint to the body that oversees pharmacies. I did once when I was given medications that were double the normal dose on two occasions. Both of the drugs could have had serious consequences for someone. I'm an ex HCP so always check. They get a rap over the knuckles and some retraining, that's all, so not major penalties but enough for them to check their systems are more robust.
EspressoPatronumm · 20/09/2022 00:00
@MinnyMous thanks, I think I'll do that as well as have a chat with the pharmacist. There are a couple of absolutely lovely staff who work there but ultimately it'll be down to the pharmacist and they've had about 4 a week on a locum basis so hopefully this will force the issue to get a permanent one.
I feel so awful that this man has gone 3 days without any of his medication
Purple52 · 20/09/2022 21:53
I’d complain.
I’d also tell
your doctors for what it’s worth.
they should know too if they are using and advocating others should use the pharmacy.
my last ever contraceptive pill prescription got messed up.
Only needed 3 months as DH had had the snip!…. They gave me 12. Prescription was for 3.
could have been worse. But still wasn’t right. If that was something “controlled” or addictive could have been really dangerous.
as it was I just knew I wouldn’t use them.
spoke to dispenser, pharmacist and GP to check and point out problem.
was definitely the chemist! I rechecked the prescription - asked to see it again.
You can “tone” it nicely but still make an extremely valid point !
EspressoPatronumm · 21/09/2022 06:34
I spoke to the pharmacist and he was shocked. He asked me to go and get my medication because it was dated the 2/9 on the bag so he potentially had it for a few weeks before bringing it to me. He's reporting it to his head office but he asked me to do it as well. He apologised and they're going to a root cause analysis to find out how it happened. I could ring the head office yesterday but it's my day off today so I will.
Bettyswoo · 22/09/2022 19:05
Someone has put your medication into the wrong bag. A simple mistake, but a potentially dangerous one and raises GDPR breach.
The manager of the pharmacy needs to know, at the very least so they can ensure staff whatever caused this slip up doesn’t happen again.
You don’t need to complain, if you don’t want to but I’d want to know if my team made a mistake that had the potential to cause harm like that.
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