..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!

Goodge private Gp appointment near me for today and get app sorted in due course.

I once waited two weeks for a telephone appointment, the GP rang three times in less than 90 seconds while I happened to be changing a nappy, and then put it down as a missed appointment and took me off the list. I had to wait another two weeks for another appointment.

Apparently GiffGaff doesn’t offer Wi-Fi calling 😕

Most pharmacy dispense CD drugs. And should be ok showing your online order even if u have it on your NHS app. Can I ask what drug it is? So I can see if any extra proof would be required or if its a difficult drug to get hold of. I work in a pharmacy so not giving medication advise for health just trying to give u a heads up x

I would love to be able to do this but even if I put the request in a few days early, the prescription is not issued until the date set on the computer! It’s really stressful when the order date is a Saturday so prescription won’t be sent to pharmacist until Monday, which is the day I run out! Since Covid, my pharmacist asks for 5 days notice to make up prescriptions which is impossible but luckily I always use the same shop so they know me and will make it up while I wait.

I need to book a prescription review so plan to ask for some leeway in the system to accommodate weekends - even worse around Bank Holidays!

@Soberfutures pharmacies can only dispense CDs against prescriptions, we can't do emergency supplies for them.

I know this thats why I was asking what it was. And trying to say that her original prescription could have been a CD dispensed from a local normal pharmacy but not a 111 referal. Think I miss worded it.

I take Monomil XL

111 and get an out of hours appointment. They can give you an emergency prescriptions. I had to do it when I ran out of tablets before a holiday. I was sure I had another strip but I hadn’t.

I’ve experienced this too, except I was not even given a 2 hour window. It certainly does not help that the call can come from a different surgery and so shows as an unrecognised number. It took me weeks to finally achieve my medication review, first because there were no available appointments for weeks, and a then a similar fiasco to yours. When I finally achieved it, the doctor on the other end seemed surprised a review was even necessary at all.

You should be ok getting that. I know our pharmacy has it stock but I know that doesn't help u. Will keep my fingers crossed for you.

YANBU

I had the same. They called me back on the number I asked to call me back on to MAKE the appointment (mobile) and I told them I needed the doctor/nurse to call me on the same number (again, my mobile) for the actual appointment ... and reiterated I was at work and it had to be my mobile number. Which they had and had used regularly. And they didn't. Called my home line. When no one is home. Infuriating.

You should be able to get an online appointment with a private GP today if you're willing and able to pay for it. I've had to do it to get antibiotics for an infected wisdom tooth in the past. It's expensive but very quick.

Actually this thread has just reminded me that I did an econsult over 2 weeks ago and they said they would reply by Thursday just gone. No reply received. I will chas this up

Even if they had actually done the meds review today, how would you have got your medication before 8am tomorrow?

I sympathise. We too are on giffgaff so no WiFi calling as far as I am aware. People just default to mobile now don't they where even a few years ago it was the other way round and people would call the landlines first. We have the same issue as you with very poor mobile signal at home so I'm always giving the landline and asking people to call it but they rarely do. So annoying.

I had this issue where I live, so changes to O2. Costs the same as GiffGaff. Its well worth doing!

Omnishambles

Well that was interesting. Having got an emergency prescription request via 111 online, I go to the pharmacy and they have no record of it. Fortunately I have an old photocopy of my prescription for travel purposes (Phamacy2U never put one in with the meds) and they dispensed me a months’ worth on the spot. They then say as long as I have that photocopy I can just buy my meds OTC.

I am hugely relieved, but very upset with the whole debacle. Need to email my surgery now to try and arrange this prescription review. Goodness knows when that will be now. DH is going to change my mobile sim to another provider that does Wi-Fi calling.

Thank you to everyone for all your advice, you’ve been amazing 🙂

She doesn't need it tomorrow, she needs it by the end of the week and she's back in the country on Thursday.

That's a shitshow OP and absolutely not your fault. Definitely one for a private GP.

I wouldn’t, but they would arrive by post by the time I got back. I didn’t have any spare to take with me for the trip, and I always want to take some spare in case my flight home gets delayed etc. it’s difficult to build up any spare supply due to the way they do repeat prescriptions.

Yes thats what I meant by being prepared that the chemist doesnt link up properly or isnt online with the 111 requests. I have been burned like this before so always phone first to check its come through, you were lucky they did it based on your previous paperwork, a local chemist near me was simply 'computer says no' I was nearly in tears in frustration as I was being passed from pillar to post between my own pharmacy (who wasnt on duty that day) to the one that was on duty. Awful systems

If the review can be done by phone, can’t you take the call even if abroad?

I hate these phone calls it's a nightmare, I actually put a snippy message on my econsult recently as I'm sick of being lectured by receptionists for missing the call when they say they will call anytime between when you put the consult in and 6.30pm the next day! One told me I can't state times I'm available, another told me off for not stating times I'm available. Even if I out times it's liable to change due to my caring responsibilities, it just doesn't work. I often wonder how people who genuinely can't answer their phone all day manage.