AIBU to worry Tesco pharmacy will not stock some prescribed medications?

[Whichnumbers]

Went to Tesco pharmacy today to collect medication

They couldn't forfill one of the medication - lots an emergency medication that is needed just incase and has been used 3 times this year.

The staff were very good but very sorry as head office have stopped them purchasing it as it's too expensive. They told me there is an entire list of medications they are not allowed to purchase anymore. So its not a case of them ordering this med in and me waiting 3/4 days but they are forbidden by head office at Tesco from actually buying it in.

The staff were kind and phoned another 2 chemists and checked online for me.

Then told me to try an independent as they wont have the same rules over which medication they can and can not supply to patients

AIBU to think thus is really worrying, as Tesco put independents out of business and now pick and choose which meds to supply and which patients they don't want

PS its not my medication, its an emergency diazepam for rectal use after 5 minutes, to be used at the same time as then calling 999.

YABU. Tesco do not have a monopoly on pharmacies.

Check whether you've been prescribed a specific brand, and if so ask your GP to change to a generic one (if it exists), I've had to do this several times as there's been a global shortage of one of my meds, but my pharmacist can order various different generic variants to maintain the supply.

ETA generic ones are usually much cheaper than branded so may not be on the banned list

Hopefully more people will transfer out to independent supermarkets.

not yet, but many smaller places have been replaced by one large supermarket chemist - that is my point

@Trallala

ive got it arriving tomorrow from an independent - thanks though. At least next time I will be able not get the script sent straight there and collect

Just use an independent. Tesco isn’t primarily a pharmacy and tend to only stick genetic type medications

Former supermarket pharmacist here. What you were told doesn’t sound right because it’s the NHS that covers the shortfall between the prescription charge and the actual cost of the drug, not Tesco. We did have a list of expensive drugs that we preferred not to dispense but they weren’t set by the supermarket.

Tesco pharmacies are a tiny fraction of the available pharmacies. Having the option to collect late at night at a supermarket is an excellent resource, but there are still thousands more pharmacies that are not Tesco.
Many pharmacies will only stock certain brands etc, it’s not abnormal for them to not be able to fill something and they doesn’t just apply to Tesco.

The two independents have closed due to Tesco, over a few years doing them out of business. So now its a 3 miles drive to the independent chemist that will supply this.

Boots didn't have the drug either as the lovely Tesco staff checked for me

I get my medication delivered from an independent. It works really well.

The pharmacist was kind and came down to explain, they were very apologetic but said they been told not to purchase and he'd previously worked for Asda and had the same issue with them.

I thought it strange as the script would be covered ?

Tesco never had what I wanted either

Tesco didn’t put them out of business. People choosing to use Tesco’s pharmacy put them out of business. Cost of your prescription is the same wherever you go and everyone knows by now if you don’t use local businesses, you lose them. And equally independents have to adapt with the times. My local independent has an out of hours dispensing machine to keep them competitive.

I've had to change pharmacies as they wouldn't supply a medication I needed. Got it from a different one that day.

Yes, indeed you are correct - its people choosing to use the supermarket chemist rather than the independent

pharmacists frequently lose money on prescriptions. While they are paid a dispensing fee and make a profit on most drugs, spikes in wholesale medicine prices often mean the NHS reimburses them less than the medication actually costs to buy.
This "dispensing at a loss" creates significant financial strain for pharmacies. Here is how the problem breaks down:

• Price Mismatches: Pharmacies purchase medicines from wholesalers. When wholesale costs unexpectedly surge, the set NHS reimbursement rate—often based on the Drug Tariff—can lag behind, leaving pharmacists to cover the shortfall out of their own pockets.
• Loss-making Drugs: Trade bodies like the National Pharmacy Association (NPA) have highlighted cases where pharmacies lose anywhere from a few pence to as much as £75 on a single packet of common medication.
• Fixed Contract Funding: Despite rising overheads, inflation, and soaring drug prices, core pharmacy funding has failed to keep up. Many rely on shop-floor retail sales (like toiletries) and advanced NHS services to subsidize the losses they take on dispensing