farcical problems with a prescription

[Blandmum]

Macmillan nurse has decided that because dh is still Od'd on the fentanly patches and needs to be put an an opiate syringe driver to control the pain.

Normally this would be done in the hospice, but the hospice has no beds, so it has to be done at home.

OK, I go and pick up prescription from the doctors surgery.

Take it to phrmacy, who, not surprisingly didn't have the drugs....controled substances, in stock.

So go to Hospital pharmacy who do have the drug, but can't give it to me because I have a GP scrip and not a hospital one!!!!!!

They send up to a large pharmacy who might have it.

They don't.

So it has to be ordered in, and dh has to wait, in pain, until 6 tonight to have it set up. By which time the kids will be home, and I don't need tem seeing all of this stuff.

FFS this is insane. It isn't the pharmacists fault in the hospital he was as helpful as he could be, Bur what a stupid bloody rule. I wasn't popping in there for a few antibiotics, I was getting pain medication for a dying man!

God how awful. Hope you are able to get it sorted asap tonight and that Mr MB is not in too much pain while you are waiting.

That is bloody ridiculous!!! I had no idea there were different sorts of prescriptions.

thats a disgrace, no-one should have to be in pain for that length of time, cant you speak to your gp again and ask him to speak to someone at the hospital.

I dont know your story MB but so sorry you are having to put up with even more stress than youre already under

dh has terminal pancreatic cancer.

Have had lots of calls from here, there and everywhere and unless we admit him to A and E (and that will also take hours) there is nothing that we can do but wait.

and if we go via A and E he will spend days in the assesment unit, which we have been in before, and is vile. He'd rather wait it out at home.

If it were me in the community pharmacy I would have phoned round other local pharmacies in the area to save you the journey of running round the houses.

I don't know what to say about your situation because I've known you on mumsnet for a while and anything I write seems crass. Just hope your dh feels better soon!

The last pharmacy that I went to did just that, and were as helpful as they could be under the circumstances.

No community pharmacy in the area stocked oxycodone in syringe driver format. TBH I didn't expect them to stock it.

Which is why I went to the hospital pharmacy. Who did have it, but could't dispense it as I had a GP scrip!

Meant to add, when my Mum got the morphine driver it felt like a terribly negative step (had been managing on liquid morphine till then) BUT it was a godsend for her. The pain was not controlled instantly, but once they did get the dose right there was no more pain. Ever.

Wishing you and Mr MB all love, x

The trouble that dh has is that if he takes things oraly, he often vomits (in spite of some amazing anti emetics).

So oramorph and oxycodon tablets have been tried in the past and were useless.

The fentanyl patches were woking ok and then dh ended up with an OD, so they are taking him off them, and switching him to a driver.

They hope to convert him from the driver to oral dosage, at a later date.

If it isn't sorted by wednesday, they will take him to the hospice. They have a bed for him from wednesday

it is crap MB, we have had similar problems with prescriptions and it stinks. can Dh have morphine injections? heres hoping this will be sorted and very soon.
any news on the start date for treatment?

Why could they just not phone your GP and get the prescription confirmed and then get a hosp doc to countersign or something. Bloody jobsworths.

local pharmacy got it in by 4, and the macmillan nurse was with us at the time,so she has got it all up and running.

I juts hope that this sorts out his pain, and removed the risk of fentanyl overdose, which we have been coping with fo the last 10 , very stressful, days.

Hey MB - as if it wasn't all enough to deal with. Hope the pain goes quickly.

Hugs.

Heres hoping Mr MB is pain free now.