To be annoyed with GP ?

[inkyspells]

My GP now offers a e consult form when you want an appointment or any help.
Since last Wednesday I’ve had UTI symptoms.
Constantly feeling like a need to urinate ,burning and a sore back.
Ive tried to treat it myself with cranberry juice /water /sachets from Amazon.
Nothing is helping so I completed a e consult form.
Any other time the GP has sent a prescription to my local pharmacy.
Today they sent a text saying sounds like you have a uti and need antibiotics ,find a pharmacy through pharmacy first and go and see them and they will prescribe them.
The issue is I have 2 pharmacy’s that open 9-5 pm which are around 15/20 min drive
I have recently started a new job and I work 9-5 and I have a 20 min break,we are in 6 weeks training and there’s no chance I can get out to go to pharmacy.
My partner was going to collect for me.
I rang GP and explained and receptionist said no you need pharmacy first rather than a GP
aibu to be annoyed ?
The GP has said I need antibiotics but won’t prescribe them.
Im a bit upset tonight,I thought I would of had antibiotics by now and at least kicking in.
The only day I can go is Saturday when I’m off.

I wouldn’t go to A&E for a UTI but I would look for another pharmacy, some are open until 8pm. I used to be allowed “just in case” antibiotics as a PP mentioned as mine hurt like hell, but if you have more than 3 or 4 infections a year you can ask to take a prophylactic. D mannose never worked for me but I now haven’t had a UTI for years

They are just trying to encourage people to use pharmacy first for the conditions they treat to conserve appointments for people that really need to be seen by a GP. I understand your frustration, I've been in a similar situation recently but they obviously can't be across every person's individual circumstances. Plus you could have gone to a pharmacy on Saturday.
If you have the money you can do an online pharmacy consult and get a private prescription delivered the next day for about £20.

Can you use boots pharmacy? Superdrug? They all can deliver. I’ve also used health express before they ask questions on a form then a doctor looks over it prescribe and posts them out next day delivery

Must large supermarkets have a pharmacy open past 5pm can you buy go to one of those?

I really like the pharmacy first system, got antibiotics for a sinus infection at the one near work and antibiotics for potential tonsillitis for DS when we were flying the next day, the pharmacist gave us the powder in a bottle and told me how much sterilised water to add, as she was advocating watch and wait but by the time I knew I'd he was going to get better or worse we would be out of the country at a funeral. It was ideal.

Sorry you’re feeling unwell, uti’s are so uncomfortable.

I think despite work training if you are unwell you should take the time to get the meds - max an hour out probably? Everyone needs time for medical care.

111 will return a pharmacy because that is the most appropriate response and the quickest service for you to be sorted out. You can call them if you can't get there - sometimes they can do a video call.

Emergency department is not appropriate - it is not an emergency.

Tell your GP surgery that you cannot get to a pharmacist. They cannot refuse you an appointment

This can happen if you have a remote pharmacy consultation too

Surely this is a GP job? Test your urine at least…

Our GP will only see patients over 65 for a UTI. Otherwise you get one at a pharmacy. Boots and Asda are open till 8pm.

I remember a friend using 111 to find an unusual drug for someone recently suffering an illness who had been discharged without the drug because the hospital pharmacy didn't have it. She'd driven to a few pharmacies, no-one had it. 111 were brilliant she said and found a pharmacy who had it. She said that she cried over the phone.

The Pharmacy First scheme has been commissioned to deal with these more straightforward problems so that GPs are free to see or deal with more complex issues.

Given there will be a duty out of hours pharmacy in your area you could access one of those.

Guidance now is no need to dip urine if the patient has 2 out of 3 potential UTI symptoms.

We only dip if a woman has just one symptom.

There must be other pharmacies you can go to after work?

This is a completely inappropriate use of A&E. There’s a late night pharmacy absolutely everywhere, unless you live extremely rurally. Just go to a pharmacy. Have a consultation with a pharmacist who will supply you with some antibiotics.

Have you checked out https://www.nhs.uk/service-search/pharmacy/find-a-pharmacy/ to see if there’s any other pharmacies open near your home or work that open late (or early)?

Yes they can. They have offered you appropriate management for your condition. Just cos it’s not convenient to access the service that is in place now doesn’t mean they “ have “ to treat you ( also pharmacies are generously funded to provide this service. GPS are not )

The Gp should have prescribed as they had already responded to you. Then they should have just made you aware for next time to use pharmacy.

Because, it's not just about writing a prescription, a consultation is needed which includes a clinician's time and the associated financial cost of this. Pharmacy First has been developed to managed uncomplicated infections and the OPs likely UTI was streamed to this service

No I get that entirely. My question was why, if the OP objected to this streaming of her complaint to the pharmacy on the grounds she couldn’t get to one within their opening hours, it would make any difference if she had the prescription sent to the pharmacy by her GP given the same limitation would apply to the collection in those circumstances

Pharmacy will let a relative etc pick up a prescription on their behalf, but for pharmacy first she'd need to be there in person for a consult.

There's a big push to reduce consultations that can be managed with pharmacy first, or over the counter/self care advice. To pass on the advice to see pharmacy first could have been by the reception team/would only take seconds to send the template. But if they were going to prescribe treatment there's all the questions re possible differentials/drug interactions/allergies/pregnancy/any red flags/suggestive of something more sinister - pharmacy first can do all that and flag you back to GP for review if there are any atypical features.

A huge number of appointments with GPs have been for things that very much didn't need a GP time - so that GPs can spend more time with the complex/things aren't responding to first line therapies/symptoms arent improving in the normal self limiting illness fashion.

OP you can buy antibiotics from all the online pharmacies now.

Just buy some and keep them handy for another time. I know that doesn't help with your current problem though.

Pharmacy first is only for what they call “simple” utis ie if you have had more than one in the last ten years (yes that is what I was asked) they won’t see you and you have to go to the gp.

equally if you have some particular illnesses and get a uti the pharmacist cannot prescribe.

honestly these days it’s a pain working out who to see for what.

Where can you buy them online? At Christmas I had to have a private online consultation for tonsillitis and it wasn’t cheap. I can’t see anywhere in the UK to simply order them, it would be handy to have a pack in the house in case it fares again.

Chemist4U
Medino

Are two places I've bought them from recently.

Just Google "nitrofurantoin" (for example) and all the pharmacies who supply them will pop up.
That's most of them BTW.
They have prescribing pharmacists. It's nothing dodgy.

@Octavia64really ? Because I’ve had 2 in the last 12 months ..my last was July time last year