5 days to fill a prescription.

[spanieleyes22]

Is this really the norm now? So my story is dd came back from uni with horrible rash from neck to knees. I said she needed doc. Couldn't get appt so went to pharmacy . The pharmacist didn't know what it was and said see a doc asap. Finally got telephone appt on Tues. doc said it's viral. Said she would write a script for so steroid cream which should help. I couldn't get to the pharmacy on wed and dd managed with calamine and moisturizer. Pharmacy closes at 6. I should have picked one that stayed open late I wasn't thinking. So went at lunch today. Answer was it takes 5 days to prepare the prescription . They only got it from the doc this morn. So that would be next wed she told me to come back . I made a bit of a fuss and said the rash was all over her body and she needed it. Eventually she went and looked and told me it was out of stock anyway. Ended up she gave me the prescription and I have to drive round and find somewhere that has it. She said no boots will have it. Is that the norm now. That scripts take 2 days to travel from doc surgery to chemist then they take 5 days to prepare it. Seems terrible to me. I'm used to walking out the doc straight into the pharmacy and getting the medication but I'm from Dublin. Seems very different here?

Sounds like you just had a crap chemist.

I ordered my medication yesterday and just had a text to say it was ready to collect. That's the normal scenario.

When the doc prescribed me antibiotics at a telephone appointment they were ready to collect the same day.

@Havanananana that's how it should be. I think British people are so ground down they just accept it as a reality now and you're seen to be expecting way too much if you question it. Like today I was I incredulous tbh. I said to her 5 days? How do you mean it takes 5 days. And she said oh it takes us 5 days to prepare a prescription. I couldn't believe it tbh . Am glad it doesn't seem to be the norm

I'm glad. I'm still puzzled why it took doc 48 hours to send it though when she was saying on the phone ok I'm sending that through now.

It's MN, some people seem to derive pleasure from making an OP feel small and ignorant.

The pharmacy will not buy in items to keep in stock as they are so expensive - the NHS does not provide stock. The NHS (government) reimburses pharmacy for items dispensed but will often pay less than the cost price. Unlike the time when Mrs sunak senior was running her pharmacy there are shortages so a more expensive brand has to be bought in (Weetabix is twice the price of Tesco own brand).
GPs have always been slow at sending prescriptions round.
We have a chance in two weeks to get rid of a government who wants to destroy the nhs

Boots are notorious for this.

It's not normal where I am in wales or where are various family members are in England - however we've all had Boots issues of various sorts to point we'd try there last these days. * *

No 5 working days is ridiculous, if its a same day doctors appointment here at our GP'S then they send it straight to the pharmacy that you request or you can have a printout if you are seeing the doctor in person

A repeat takes 3 days, but that is regularly repeat medication so.ypu wouldn't need that urgently.

@spanieleyes22 our pharmacy is dreadful!! went to pick up hubbys repeat (2 monthly) and had to return 4 times cos they didnt have enough and they forgot altogether about 1 script! they do not give even one tablet extra so some packs have 28 days in them and some have 28 days! always running short on the 28day ones!!

No. Ours is same day . In fact today I put dc one though the GP postal box at 8.45am on School run. Had text at 11 to say it's sent to chemist. Text at 12.30 from Chemist to say it's ready.

The most is 24hrs and that's only if my gp is day off which is a Tuesday.

We also have 0 issues getting an apt. We seem to he really lucky.

Observing from abroad, the British public really do look as though they have been sleepwalking (or perhaps conned) into the current situation - poor public services have been allowed to become normalised, with the Conservative politicians happy to say "Yeh, but we kept taxes down" (which they actually didn't) safe in the knowledge that they themselves can pay for things like private healthcare that the hoi polloi cannot afford.

If anyone is interested, this is what healthcare looks like here (and for those who were not around then, broadly similar to how it used to be 20 years ago in the UK):

• GP appointments - walk in and wait for 10-15 minutes. There are early morning and late evening sessions too, and weekend sessions. (Actually, when I first moved here and went to ask for my first appointment, the receptionist said "No, you can't book an appointment." Seeing the look of confusion on my face she said, "You just sit over there and you'll be seen in about 15 minutes.")
• Ambulance - arrives within 10-15 minutes. Air ambulances available where needed - e.g. in rural areas - and funded by the health service.
• A&E waiting times - measured in minutes rather than hours.
• Consultant/specialist/hospital appointments - rarely more than a 2-week wait. The receptionists apologise if it is more than a month. Patients call to book the appointment, so it is at a time that suits them.
• Minor elective surgery - which I've needed once. The time from seeing the GP to having the operation was less than a month.

And for the benefit of Hunt and Sunak, who keep bleating about Covid being the cause of the backlogs and waiting lists - we had Covid here too, as did the rest of Europe. The hospitals here caught up with the waiting lists and were back to normal in a matter of months after the worst of the pandemic was over.

Tell me you know nothing about pharmacy, without telling me you know nothing about pharmacy. 'lol'.

But OP, no not normal. Just a bad experience.

I'm glad. At least some places are running well: I said to this pharmacist how will I know when it's ready and she said come back in 5 days. I said can I phone earlier. She laughed and said I could try but they didn't have time to answer the phone so...I should keep checking in the shop

That's a crap pharmacist.
Several ones in my town have different suppliers but they will ALL check for you immediately if they don't have it in, whether the distributor has it.
If they do, they will get it in their next delivery (usually next day).
If not, they will suggest ringing round or occasionally they will suggest a different formulation (eg my migraine tablets were out of stock everywhere -they said they could get double strength or I could try a spray - I always take 2 tablets anyway so the GP just issued a new prescription for the double strength).

@spanieleyes22 exactly, your chemist should have advised you when they suggest you try a different chemist. They send it back to the central system and a different chemist can recall it.

Your gp and pharmacist should both have advised that the medicine they prescribed can be purchased privately.

It's not a normal turnaround time for prescription medicine but in the system we have to deal with that is massively strained and under pressure, knowing these things will help navigate and reduce wait time for treatment.

Our local pharmacy has had really bad staffing issues over the last year, and at one point was 2.5 weeks behind on filling prescriptions. If you turned up and it wasn't ready, they would do it there and then if you were able to wait, but of course that's probably less efficient. Things got so bad that they sometimes opened late or closed for an afternoon or morning to allow them to catch up a bit without having to stop for customers - but that meant that if you needed the medication urgently and the prescription had been sent direct to the pharmacy, you couldn't get it at all. There were also some closures just because there was no pharmacist available to cover holiday/sickness. Things have been better recently but apparently the branch in the next village is now having problems.

Some people tried contacting head office, and that did seem to have some effect - I think they ended up working evenings to clear the backlog, with managers pitching in.

I don't know whether there is a general shortage of pharmacists, or whether the company is just not employing enough to ensure they can cover sickness and holiday, and perhaps a bit of double-staffing when needed.

Despite the difficulties here, DD had a prescription for steroid cream recently and collected it the day it was prescribed - albeit half the quantity initially as that's all they had in. So it can be better than your DD's experience.

It's always been the same, though. One of my first jobs at age 16 (35+ years ago), the pharmacy kept a stock of commonly prescribed items. We would note on a pad when items were used during our shift and then whoever was on in the afternoon rang an order through to the wholesaler before 5pm (I think) each day. Replacements were delivered next morning. Items that weren't stocked as routine were ordered in the same way, so were generally either available by lunchtime the following working day or the day after if it was after 5pm. Alternatively, the pharmacist had a list of phone numbers and would ring round to see if they had it available, if so, we'd borrow it and replace when our stock came in. Small, independent pharmacy.

Thankfully that’s my experience as well. There was one time they couldn’t find stock of something. I emailed the manufacturer and they sent some to the pharmacy.

OP, have you got it now? If not you could look on google to find the manufacturer and contact them?

Or ring round other pharmacies.

What part am I getting wrong?

It’s all batshit OP. I went to chemist today with a prescription, lots of Oh and Umming, went out the back, overheard her saying, terrible handwriting (the dr’s), can we get it?, it’s going to be very very expensive (it was a private prescription). Came back and said they might be able to get it tomorrow. They are normally really good so I said thanks but no thanks.

huge Boots ten minute drive away so I go there instead. The pharmacist said he’s been in the business for 12 years and it’s never been available in that time.
My poor relative is sat at home in lots of pain. Fortunately pharmacist offered an over the counter alternative which I’m hoping will work.

(don’t know what your DD’s issue is but over the years I’ve used a lot of essential oils like tea tree and lavender etc for skin issues, mixed lavender with e45 cream for burns etc - always worked really well. Might be worth a dr google) hope she feels better soon.

Day Lewis where I am are shocking.

From the point a prescription has been issued, they want a minimum of 7 days to make it up.

Nope, you've had it for days and I need it.

Any script I have received from a doctor I've got same day. I order my repeat scrips online. Take max 2 days

Your second point is only part true though, once a prescription has been sent to a specific pharmacy they have to “release” it before another pharmacy can dispense it (which is what has happened for OP). If you haven’t specified a pharmacy you are able to use it at any

Was this Boots because they were awful with my dd.

I went in with a prescription for adhd meds to the big boots in town and they were awful. The psych had put several options on the prescription because it’s hard to get.
Boots lady took one look at the script and said we haven’t got any, can’t get any and you won’t get it anywhere when I asked for advice. It’s the first line of possibility as regards adhd meds so not a niche med. I was aware there are shortages but thought they’d be able to order or I could try other pharmacies. They were so unhelpful. My dd has severe mental health struggles and is self medicating so it was quite important we get some.

Anyway as desperate I tried our local pharmacy and they were lovely,so helpful. Not only that they had it in stock. I didn’t even need to order it or wait and they had it again 2 weeks later. 😳

Never going back to Boots they were awful. It’s just a production line.

My nearest chemist closed, they had been okish. The one we go to now is brilliant. I drop my prescription request at the doctors and they take 3 days to turn it around but my pharmacy do it the day they get it.
My husband and I both have a lot of medication and very quickly the assistant knew who I was and would ask if I was collecting for myself of husband .
On one occasion a person came in and said that a person had collapsed just down the street and that someone was putting them in the recovery position whilst waiting for an ambulance. The pharmacist assistant said to the pharmacist " oh I wonder if he's one of ours?" She stuck her head out and recognised him . She knew his name and that he was diabetic. The pharmacist went straight down to the person and was able to help them whilst waiting for the Ambulance.