..to be blamed for missing a telephone appointment with a GP?

[Sandflea9900]

Bit of background to my situation. My job involves a LOT of overseas business travel, to the point where I’m away every week except two between now and Christmas. I have three medications on repeat prescription, one of which is for my heart which stops me having angina and a heart attack.

I normally request my repeat prescriptions online on the weekend and have the, delivered by Pharmacy2U so they arrive by the following weekend. Last weekend I forgot as I was travelling abroad on the weekend for work. I remember on Thursday when I got home, log in online and find that I am blocked from reordering as I need an annual medication review. I phone the surgery and am amazed to be told that a GP will ring me between 10am and midday today (Sunday) to do the review. Since there is mobile reception at my home, I explicitly asked that they call me on my home landline, which the receptionist agrees to.

This (Sunday) morning I am horrified to see two missed calls from a local number I don’t recognise on my mobile, 10 minutes before the start of the two hour window for the call. I immediately phone back, to be told that they didn’t get the message about the phone line and that it’s my fault for missing the call. The receptionist (it is a different surgery doing the Sunday calls, not my own) says I have been removed from the call list as a result and she cannot reinstate me on the list, and can suggest nothing else.

I am now in the situation where I will run out of medication by the end of next week, but I fly abroad on business at 8am tomorrow, so I can’t phone my own GP surgery or make any alternative arrangements. Whilst I’m back on Thursday evening, I’m then abroad for the next five weeks. I’m panicking as I don’t have enough medication and seemingly no way to get any more. I’m struggling to see how this was my fault. Help!

If you used a high street pharmacist, you could go to your usual chemist, they can issue you an emergency supply, at the cost of a private script. I don't know if that's possible with these postal only pharmacies- maybe switch to a local one in case this happens again?

In this situation, could you ring your GP tomorrow from abroad, so the meds are there for you Thursday? Or arrange a private GP to sort it abroad, or via post for Thursday?

A private "buffer" of a month's supply sounds sensible for you given your lifestyle? The NHS wouldn't provide that, but a private GP could? I've done this.

The problem I have is not reordering with my GP, it’s fitting in the medication review, as I’m rarely in the UK in the autumn other than the odd weekend. Until they do the review they won’t release my medication for reorder, and they certainly won’t do that review on the spot if I phoned. I’m just seething that their admin screw up is being blamed on me and no one is taking responsibility for resolving things.

I can go through my surgery website to an online system which allows me to communicate with the surgery. Have you checked to see if your surgery has something like that?

Unfortunately they don’t have messaging switched on. They do have an email address so I’m going to message them that way, but they won’t read it until after the surgery has opened tomorrow morning and that will be after my flight has taken off.

That is bad and I must say these telephone appointments have some issues that are not being properly addressed. In your case I think the answer would be to contact your work for help. With a job involving so much travel it makes me think there's a possibility they would help arrange a private GP.

They wont do this now anyway, you have do this through 111

OP, you have to order via 111 to explain you need emergency medication and the reasons why. They then send authorisation to the duty chemist in your area who will dispense this. Do be prepared for mistakes such as the on duty chemist in your area not being online or linked up with teh 111 system and then you'll be bereated for leaving your medication to the last minute despite it not actually being your fault.

Oh by the way I agree, the services now for GPs are piss poor

https://111.nhs.uk/emergency-prescription

Omg I sympathise. I waited a year for ds to see a specialist.. Got 12 months prescription.. They changed his review phone appointment 3 times.. Final one was a holiday date.. Waited in our accommodation all morning for the 10.30 call. Booked swimming slot for 1pm. No call came. Checked phone post swim. 12.57... Snotty letter came that The Dm Didn't Answer The Phone. Now ds has no meds and letter states need to see GP for further referral..

Just email your normal gp explaining it all and ask for a months grace in having your review.

Thanks, I just booked via 112 online to go to my local pharmacy. Have to wait until DH is back from church with the car though. Hopefully that will tide me over, but I have no idea how on earth I’m going to have this medication review now.

Like @bellac11 says go through 111. They have systems to cope with this. I live in a tourist area & people often forget their medication.
Email your GP as well.
Good luck!

Oh that’s awful, I’m so sorry.

Can you enable wificall on your mobile to prevent this happening in future? We also have no mobile reception at home but with wificall it just uses our home wifi instead. https://ee.co.uk/help/mobile/manage-use/using-phone-features/use-wifi-calling

Well you can sort that out later, your priority now is your meds

I would be making a complaint to the practice manager about their systems

I don’t have a solution but totally sympathise as our reception is poor at home too and I’ve had the same situation with being blamed for a missed call. I have been trying to sort a repeat prescription issue since May (!!) due to lots of errors and cancellations, but at least I’m able to get my drugs OTC. Hope you find a way to sort it.

Thanks, I’ll look at that.

I would write a formal letter to your GP or practice manager. Explain all this. It will have to be dealt with.

BTW: I always make sure I have a buffer. I order my next prescription a few days early and carry on like this until I have a months spare supply.

We've had lots of issues with telephone consultations, obviously the waiting all day for the call that never came and the old classic of the doctor ringing the mobile, letting it ring out once to "record" the call attempt then hanging up before anyone has time to answer. Collectively managing to combine inefficiency with contempt

Please make sure you have a copy of your usual repeat prescription stating its a regular medication. As if its not your local pharmacy then they sometimes struggle to access your summary care record. So the more proof u have the better.

Is it a CD controlled drug u need? As some can't dispense them.

I don’t think it’s a controlled drug, as they dispensed it from my local pharmacy when we first moved here before I could get online delivery set up. I don’t have a copy of the prescription as Pharmacy2U don’t include it with the meds they send out, but I can log in online to the GP website and show the pharmacist what I usually have. Will that be enough?

Private GP appointment online today

How would I get that?

Agree. Your lifestyle requires private health care, which will provide 24/7 access to a GP booked via an App

Removed the stress while working