To wonder why they shut so early

[Rosebel]

Local chemist attached to the doctor is open until 6:30. Went up at 4 to pick up my daughter's inhaler and prescription aspirin for me. Massive queue and only 2 at a time allowed in (fair enough).
Branch manager comes out at 4:15 and says they are only serving next 3 people, even though most people have prescriptions waiting. She says come back tomorrow.
Why on earth would they shut 2 hours early a a time like this? From my point of view it's not too bad I can wait. Bloke next me says his son has been released from prison and needs medication for his mental health. They still refused.
It surely doesn't take 2 hours to serve 3 people.

People are being ridiculous. I didn't have a go at anyone or complain. It seems you can't even ask a,simple question on here anymore.

It’s virus control. Lots of places are reducing hours and limiting customers

@StormyClouds they need to sleep and eat and rest! They cannot work overnight then reopen the next day, it’s not like stocking shelves in a normal shop - putting something in the wrong place could be dangerous. Same for working when you are exhausted. And remember the staff are just as stressed as the general public except they have people moaning at them all day too.

I suspect they will be working long after closing time as the volume of prescriptions is enormous at present. Everybody who has ever had an inhaler in their life is requesting one now and many people are panicking and requesting their prescriptions. They cannot get these prescriptions made up when they are at the door serving people

A couple of big chain shops in our town today had to shut early due to staff shortage.

Because we are knackered. We are doing our best, trying to serve the public some of whom have been extremely rude and impatient.

@CalmYoBadSelf

I'm not sure why working late gets the staff off the hook from maintaining their opening hours. My Dsis is a doctor and she can't just close the A and E doors and say "sorry, I need a break".

DH is a lawyer and he regularly works until 10pm at night.

If the pharmacy opening hours are 9am-6pm, it closes at 6pm. Not any earlier. If that requires the staff to stay late to clean and make up prescriptions, than that is what they do. It's not like they have much else to do atm anyway.

user that's so kind.

The pharmacy staff said they'd let them know. To be fair it's only happened once and it's entirely possible had they seen me they would have allowed me in. But given earlier in the week I was screaming and left in an utter state perhaps they wouldn't!!

It's not the staffs fault at all. To be clear in no way am I saying that. However, people are being given meds to isolate if they need to and that is resulting in more prescriptions and larger quantities - last week I couldn't have one of mine (they've told GP) as they went out of stock altogether. Oh and I live somewhere rural where thick people are coming to isolate. I know people have been asked to leave by GP and another smaller pharmacy (also wearing masks now) but the one today clearly wasn't as the person in front of me was from England collecting a massive bag of meds (not necessarily for them could have been relatives of course).

But those of us on daily pick ups must have our meds. I'm being put at risk of more complications due to not having it. PTSD not withstanding.

Medications cannot be dispensed under any circumstances unless a pharmacist is present and certain other services are not available either. I know sometimes there is a shortage of pharmacists as well so for example they may only have one for half a day too.

I spend entirely too much time in pharmacies! Reading usually whilst waiting my turn!!

I don't think a lack of staff would mean they shut that early.

Ofcourse it could. If the current person has been there all day and there is no one to take over they may have to shut early. Working on may not be an option.

@Stormyclouds

This has probably been our busiest week ever in our pharmacy. We haven't closed for lunch yet but seriously considering it. The phones are ringing off the hook constantly, we have people queuing up outside the door. The doctors surgeries are sending patients who quite clearly need a doctors appointment down to see us - we had a lady collapse in the shop this week. Or sending them to have their blood pressure checked, they are not making appointments for patients due to the virus but it's fine to send them to us. As well as telling patients they're sending a prescription down to us to find that it's still not even signed by the doctor at least 20 patients a day - in Wales so we still deal with paper prescriptions. We have so much stock coming in and out its unbelievable. Minimum of 8 deliveries from different suppliers twice a day - currently twice the size or the ones we have normally as patients have extra prescriptions and the nursing units we look after are also ordering extra stock.

We are trying our best to still continue as normal. But the workload is crazy and like a previous poster said an error could cause a fatality.

Don't think the staff dont have anything else to do. Many could be doing courses, this is my one night off studying this week I have deadlines looming but I just need a night off.

@StormyClouds. Just curious what you do for a living. If a pharmacist makes a mistake then the cost could be a human life. So, getting a proper break is a good ide

@Dylaninthemovies1

I'm a management consultant. My job is to meet clients' needs- if that means I have a conference call with someone in Hong Kong at 3am, that's what happens. Otherwise, they will go to one of our competitors, who will be more than happy to help them.

This is the issue with a non- competitive healthcare system- there is no incentive to retain or win clients. Any other business that behaved like that would be shut within the week as it would simply have no customers.

If you make a mistake in your job
Stormy, you are very very unlikely to kill anyone.

You are probably also extremely handsomely rewarded for the occasional 3am call.

Actually, most HCP work quite hard to “retain clients”. Their competition is funeral directors, after all.

Wow, Stormy. That’s a wonderful considerate attitude you have there. Do you think that pharmacy staff don’t have families to see to? Are you willing to pay their wages while they work after hours?

My pharmacy is manned by two staff and a pharmacist. That’s it. Three. Three to answer the phone, deal with queries, sell/hand out medication, unpack deliveries, make up prescriptions, search for the prescription that a customer swears was sent by the doctor ‘automatically’. Three to tell people repeatedly that we’re out of stock of paracetamol, calpol, hand sanitizer etc despite there being a sign up.

Three to make sure the doctor hasn’t made a fatal error in the prescription. Three to make sure we don’t make a fatal dispensing error.

Three.

We’re only human. It’ll be nice if people like you could remember that once in a while.

@StormyClouds

I worked in Pharmacy for 10 years. I can say categorically that the pharmacy wouldn't have closed unless the circumstances were exceptional due to their requirement to meet their core hours contracted by the local CCG.

I escaped that world, and I am now a Process Director covering North, East and Central Europe, and I too occasionally have to partake in an ungodly timed call with our APAC region.

Even in normal circumstances, Pharmacy is extremely pressured with little reward and I can say for a fact, that you aren't seen as "clients" with "needs" that we must fight to retain.

You're a patient with a prescription, requiring a service. Pharmacies don't mind when you trot off elsewhere, they take a deep breath of relief because there is always another 10 hot on your heels requiring said service.

Pharmacy workers are one of the lowest paid groups in the healthcare sector, yet they are still going out every day facing multiple people and putting themselves and their families at risk. Their role at this time is as important as all the other healthcare workers and it's important we remember that.

It's easy for us in comparison, behind our laptops, working remotely. People need pharmacies far more than they need 3am calls right now.

We're barely paid more than minimum wage. We are not paid to stay working any later than opening hours. Our workload has more than doubled. We were short-staffed before this crisis even started. There are no spare staff members that we can just pull out of our arses to throw at the extra workload. If we make a mistake then someone could die.

A big thank you to all Pharmacists and staff.

Yes, a huge thank you to all pharmacists and others working in pharmacies! It was very obvious to me when I went in there last week what is going on. Any front line workers deserve a bonus at the end of this. In the mean time, management consultants/bankers/commercial solicitors etc etc working at home currently still on full pay please show some consideration! I myself am in this latter bracket and so grateful to all our key workers tiding us over.

I work in a pharmacy for the last 20 years and never have we been under so much pressure. Our work loss has tripled in an already extremely busy week. Our pharmacy has had to close for lunch and early each day to ensure we get a mental break away even just for a few minutes. When we close early we stay back to finish our tasks for that day and try to make a start for the next day. I've never been so exhausted mentally in work. I understand it's frustrating for people but we are doing our best. We've also families at home and are concerned about bringing something back as we can't self isolate.

Okay no need to be sarcastic.

That's not really how MN works.

This is the issue with a non- competitive healthcare system- there is no incentive to retain or win clients. Any other business that behaved like that would be shut within the week as it would simply have no customers.

Healthcare is a collective good, with poor market information and huge barriers to entry. It does not behave like the market for coffee or computers.

The UK system is vastly more efficient than the US competitive system. Trying to apply a simplistic free market model to collective goods does not work. Suggesting that in the middle of a crisis is daft in the extreme.

We don’t know.