Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Only the apps you allow.

Meet the Other Phone.
Only the apps you allow.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to think doctors don't read repeat prescriptions before signing them

139 replies

2shoescreepingthroughblood · 15/10/2009 17:17

collected dd's today
I had asked for paracetamol, the doc knows dd and knows what she has(he precribed it for her a while back)
yet instead of liquid, he put soluble tablets!!
so he can't have read it can he, makes me think the receprionist, does them and he just signs them without looking.....
(it is ok as chemist will swap it)

OP posts:
SomeGuy · 15/10/2009 17:51

Can't you just buy it from the chemist without prescription?

YABU.

Tombliboobs · 15/10/2009 18:04

Why should OP buy it when she is entitled to free prescriptions?

YANBU

jybay · 15/10/2009 18:15

GPs prescribe about 500 items per day. Obviously we should be aiming not to make any mistakes (especially for children), but realistically there is going to be the odd error. The fact that all prescriptions are then checked again by pharmacists is important for safety.

TeaOneSugar · 15/10/2009 18:28

They should be checked by the adminstrator who reads the request and prints out the script, the GP who signs it and then twice in the pharmacy, once by the person who picks the item and once by the person who hands it over.

It probably wasn't picked up because it was the right medication, just in the wrong form.

SomeGuy · 15/10/2009 18:31

Why should OP buy it when she is entitled to free prescriptions?

Because it's a big fat waste of the doctor's time, which he could be using to treat people that are ill.

I don't think it's realistic to think that a doctor prescribing something in order to save someone £1.49 on a bottle of paracetamol will remember his case notes and think 'oh yes, that girl will need the suspension, not the tablets'.

Ledodgy · 15/10/2009 18:34

Check the address is correct on top of the prescription. Sometimes an older patient may have the same name and they've written the prescription for them by mistake.

When I took my 20 month old to the drs recently the dr came out and called 'Mr adams, Mr adams'. They thought my 20 month old was a 70 year old patient with the same name.

TheHeadlessWombat · 15/10/2009 18:34

I wouldn't expect them to read them in great detail considering how many they sign a day. Hundreds as jybay said.

A major error yes I'd expect them to notice,but not that.

hairyclaireyfairy · 15/10/2009 18:34

we have care in the chemist here where pharmacy will provide paracetomol, ibrufen free, saves the doctors time, do you not have something similar?

notevenamousie · 15/10/2009 18:35

Of course the adminstrator does it and the GP just signs it. How much time do you think they have?

TeaOneSugar · 15/10/2009 18:35

In some areas they have schemes that allow people to go straight to the pharmacy for this kind of thing, to save unnecessary appointments, tends to be in areas where a relatively high number of people don't pay for prescriptions.

TheHeadlessWombat · 15/10/2009 18:36

And it's pretty normal as far as I'm aware for the receptionist to run them off the computer and take them through to the doctors.
That's certainly what we did when I worked as a medical receptionist in 2 different health centres. We did that twice a day.

Tombliboobs · 15/10/2009 18:36

Last time I looked someguy, it was still the NHS, free at the point of delivery. Not, free unless you deem it to be less important and a waste of time.

That £1.49 you talk about can add up for somebody with long term needs.

Wallace · 15/10/2009 18:37

We are lucky here with have a Minor Ailments Scheme where you can just go through the pharmacist for prescriptions for things like paracetamol (for those eligible for free prescriptions)

Wallace · 15/10/2009 18:38

And I do think you are right that he probably just signs a stack without reading them.

Wallace · 15/10/2009 18:40

I dont tend to use the Minor Ailments Scheme for things like paracetamol ( but did when ds needed Piriton for example) but would if there was a long term need.

SomeGuy · 15/10/2009 18:40

Tombliboobs, the doctor definitely has higher priorities, and if you don't like the quality of free service that you are getting, then a chemist can sort you out quite nicely without any fuss.

TheHeadlessWombat · 15/10/2009 18:41

That said they must read to them to an extent as our doctors were always able to tell who was asking for prescriptions far too often i.e They were selling the drugs,and take appropriate action.

ErikaMaye · 15/10/2009 18:43

But if you have the option, then why not use it? Costs add up very quickly, especially if you are on medication of whatever sort for a long period of time.

ChunkyMonkeysMum · 15/10/2009 18:43

I used to be a receptionist is a GP's surgery. It was one of my jobs to issue the repeat prescriptions. Once they were done the GP would sign them & not really even look at them. I think this is standard practice tbh.

Although I can't understand how the error was made because if it was a repeat prescription, the receptionist wouldn't have needed to add the item as it would already have been on the computer. All she would need to do is issue the repeat so it should have been exactly the same as the GP first issued to your DD.
Odd !!

lou33 · 15/10/2009 18:43

my gp no longer prescribes that kind of thing

however they do have an in house dispensary for anyone who lives more than a mile from a chemist

the prescription is printed out in the pharmacy , and whenever a gp comes to call the next patient he checks and signs the prescriptions waiting to be dispensed

HappyMummyOfOne · 15/10/2009 18:46

Ours wont issue a prescription for calpol, paracetamol, piriton etc as it can all be purchased cheaply without prescription. Saves money and the doctors time.

SomeGuy · 15/10/2009 18:48

But if you have the option, then why not use it?

The problem is that our NHS 'free at the point of delivery' is buckling under the combined weight of being 'free', and if the OP expects 'free' and 'perfect', then the cost of providing that service will bankrupt us.

Hence, YABU.

Tombliboobs · 15/10/2009 18:51

'Tombliboobs, the doctor definitely has higher priorities, and if you don't like the quality of free service that you are getting, then a chemist can sort you out quite nicely without any fuss'

I think you have missed the point of my post someguy. I am defending the right of the OP to access what she is entitled to. I am not the OP, please try and read my posts carefully

The doctor may have higher priorities, but luckily for society, they still see pain relief in a form that the Op's DD can access as being important enough to bother themselves with. Just because something is free, does not mean it shouldn't be correct.

Wallace · 15/10/2009 18:52

So Someguy, when my dd had major surgery and was sent home with a prescription for Paracetamol suspension for pain relief, I should have refused it and gone and bought some at the chemist?

jybay · 15/10/2009 18:52

Just wanted to point out that we don't know why the OP's DD needs the paracetamol. Some children are on long term painkillers, e.g. for juvenile arthritis. If you are a low income family, having to buy Calpol every week can really add up and I certainly would be very happy to prescribe it. In fact, I'm happy to prescribe it for any good medical reason, just not to have a spare bottle in the cupboard.