Being told to go the pharmacy for cystitis by doctor receptionist

[Musica7474]

I have cystitis. I’ve had it before and had different anti biotic for it- sometimes 2 as it has been resistant to treat.

Ive left it to try and sort it self out for a few days by doing all the right things. It hasn’t.

Receptionist told me pharmacies now deal with cystitis and will advise me. I don’t need advice and I don’t want to be talking about my wee and symptoms in a packed pharmacy.

The receptionist made me feel awful for not wanting to go to the pharmacy and insisting on a doctor’s call( I’d have been happy with a prescription being left at the desk and no call just a gp looking at my records to check which anti biotic is best for me). She said I could have a call this time.🤔

Cystis can be really unpleasant and not great if not treated . Anti biotic are expensive and it’s not great to take several, I don’t think women should be made to feel like shit for wanting treatment for it and a gp to look at her records.

I'm sorry, I don't really know about their funding.
We have a full time pharmacist at our practice. The attached pharmacy has a further pharmacist, 2 technicians and 2 counter assistants and any one point. Similar set-up at other pharmacies like the 2 near my house. There are never queues bar maybe a couple of people. I live in a city so maybe that is the difference. These practices are not new to people here and it all seems to run smoothly. It did take people time to get used to it though.

No I wasn’t. The receptionist gave incorrect information. I had a choice and a history of the condition. Cystitis and discussing my fanny as you so eloquently put it is a personal issue and I will decide where and with whom I feel comfortable discussing it. As I said I do and will use the pharmacy for most of the other conditions listed. I won’t however with this. That is my choice ,preferable with my history and one I am able to make which should have been made clear by the receptionist and wasn’t.

We all have a responsibility to minimise our burden on the NHS. Taking a GP appointment from someone who can’t be seen by anyone else because you’re feeling missish about talking to a highly qualified medical practitioner about your lady bits just seems ridiculous.

But in my area it’s 3 weeks for an appointment so people really do just try to leave them for the important stuff and are happy to be seen by anyone who has time.

I’d be interested to know if they’re hiring more pharmacists as actually I’d want a proper conversation in a private consultation room for a few of the conditions listed. A snatched 2 minute conversation with a harried pharmacist in front of a long queue and a packed pharmacist if you’re in agony with shingles, impetigo, sinusitis or an ear infection is not ok if anti biotics are involved You apparently don’t need an appointment.😳

Also it does say on the scheme it’s for uncomplicated urine infections with women. So men aren’t apparently being ushered to discuss something they might find quite personal at the pharmacy.🤔

The pharmacist should be sorting out prescriptions not acting as a gp or nurse practitioner so the practice staff can put their feet up.

I had my flu vacc at a pharmacy. Overfull sharps bins, overflowing clinical waste. No sink in the flu vacc room so god knows when or if they wash their hands.

They are set up to process prescriptions not to assess and be faux GPs.

In my area you get a call back on the day if necessary.And when I’ve had some quite worrying things to be examined I’ve been called in on the day for face to face.

I’m not going to feel guilty for the state of the NHS. I don’t go to the GP a lot and use the pharmacist when ever I can. I don’t actually like taking antibiotics. With this condition however I can use the GP and will be.

Also it does say on the scheme it’s for uncomplicated urine infections with women. So men aren’t apparently being ushered to discuss something they might find quite personal at the pharmacy.🤔

Isn’t that just because urine infections are much less common in men, so they’re more likely to be complicated?

I used the pharmacy first scheme when I had shingles recently, it was brilliant. I didn't need an apt, got seen in a private consulting room and was on my merry way with antivirals in about 10 mins. Whereas my GP practice barely even answer calls...

No need to take up a GP appointment for this. Pharmacists have private spaces fir consultation. Even super drug sell tests treatment for cystitis not to mention the Internet. It's really not worthy of a doctors appointment

Why are you asking then if you've already made up your mind?

If the pharmacist thinks you need to see the GP they'll tell you but don't take up an appointment when there's people who really need to be seen by a GP.

You clearly don’t know what cystitis is like when it’s not straight forward. You can get the sachets which I used along with other methods. You then need anti biotic if it’s resistant. You can’t just get those online.

I don’t know which antibiotic you’re resistant to but you can definitely buy both trimethoprim and nitrofurantoin online (I think you can get them both from Superdrug) - you fill in a questionnaire and they get a doctor to approve it.

I’ve never seen a doctor for a UTI - the sachets keep the discomfort bearable but don’t clear the infection so I’ve always just bought antibiotics online. (I’m fairly confident about self-diagnosis generally though!)

I thought this was a great idea at first.

My dd woke up with a sore throat, was obviously the start of tonsillitis.

Called the GP at 8am, after 45 mins on hold, was told No appointments but to take her to pharmacy as they could now prescribe for that. great!

Went straight there, the pharmacist took her into a room, looked at her throat. yep, tonsillitis. 5 day course of antibiotics and off we went.

It seemed to clear up within 48 hours. She finished the whole 5 day course. Day 6… throat sore again. Went back to pharmacy - sorry, no more we can do, you need to see. A GP.

Called GP, No appointment, told to call 111. DD struggling to swallow, called 111 who made us an appointment at GP surgery for an hour later. I mean, seriously.

Saw GP, all he said was they gave her the wrong antibiotics for too short a course it was always going to come back. I told him his surgery that told me to go to the pharmacy they wouldn’t make an appointment. He just shrugged and said, “they are limited to what they can prescribe, you should have tried to see me.” Um, yeah, no shit, I couldn’t get past reception.

Felt like I was banging my head against a brick wall!

10 days of the correct antibiotics, all sorted.

Honestly, I’ll just call 111 in future. The surgery is useless.

I don't understand why you are claiming people have to talk on front of a queue. Just say you want a private discussion with a pharmacist, they have little cubicle rooms at all the pharmacies near here. It's far worse at the GP, where the receptionist wants details given in front of the queue.

Thank Goodness -a sensible response - all those telling Op to go to Pharmacist when she has explained at the start why it won’t be suitable for her - read the posts folks!!!

Yanbu. Using a pharmacist is a good option sometimes but not for you right now. You were not being unreasonable to speak to a gp - the NHS is there to be used and it’s amazing that you’re being critiqued for doing so.

If a pharmacist is able to prescribe antibiotics for UTIs then they have signed up to the Pharmacy First scheme and this means they MUST have a private consulting room. It is in their contract. The consulting room may not be obviously visible from the counter but it will be there. Pharmacists train for a minimum of five years. They are medical professionals, not shop assistants. They have access to some of your medical records (eg allergies & previous prescriptions) to keep you safe but you will be asked for your consent if the pharmacist would like to access your full records. Pharmacists follow the same prescribing guidelines as GPs for the conditions they treat (eg uncomplicated utis). Receptionists should not refer people to a pharmacy for treatment if they are under the care of a urologist, if they have had a recent infection or if they are unwell with back or side pain. It’s not compulsory to see a pharmacist if you have one of the conditions they can treat, but it is sensible.

'Pharmacists train for a minimum of five years. They are medical professionals, not shop assistants. '

They dispense meds. She should not be attempting to assess and diagnose anyone. Yes give out ear drops for blocked ears or hay-fever meds to someone sneezing but this bodily fluids processing, assessing and prescribing should be well out of their remit.

While they're in a cubicle or whatever playing Drs there's a queue outside who want their prescriptions.

Dispensers dispense meds. Pharmacists are way more qualified than that.

True, but there is also misinformation about what pharmacists can do under the pharmacy first scheme which is also unhelpful and could potentially lead to abuse from customers.

All of your last paragraph!

We got refused to see a pharmacist told to come back in two hours (the shop was shutting in two hours 😂 ) because he was so far behind as he couldn't see people and do the prescriptions

They are not just trained to dispense medicines. Do you really think the training would take five years plus if that was all they could do.🙄

You have my sympathies UTIs are horrible but I find your whole attitude quite off.

You don’t need to book a GP or see a Pharmacist for cystitis. Surely you would note down which antibiotics do/don’t work for you and then you can request that type or even easier order it online, loads of places do this now.

Or you can access your own health care records/prescription history online to see which antibiotic it was.

Lastly, Pharmacists are trained heath care professionals so of course they have access to health records. You sound very rude.