Just A Rant

[Xeronema]

I feel like ranting about my Doctor's Surgery. The level of service they provide seems to be slipping. I don't think it should be so difficult to get a repeat prescription, but for some reason the service is getting worse.

I ordered my insulin through the dispensary on Wednesday (answerphone, you can't actually speak to a human any more) before they opened. I checked patient access on Wednesday evening, no prescription done (fair enough, it's only 1 working day). I then second guessed myself yesterday and though, "Did I really order it?", so I ordered it again. It got to 20:00 last night, I checked patient access, still not done (not done my oxycodone either, which I ordered).

I checked at 10:00 this morning, still not done. I've now run out of insulin, haven't got any left and haven't taken it since yesterday morning (probably why I feel a bit ratty). I rang the Doctor Surgery and asked if they could put my mind at ease and at least confirm that the request has gone to a GP - the receptionist responds with, "You need to speak to the dispensary". How am I supposed to speak to them? It's ridiculous.

I know for a fact that the receptionist I spoke to is capable of checking, because they'd done it before. So yeah, now I'm in a panic and there is nothing I can do about it. The only option I'm left with is going to the doctors, which isn't going to be easy for me, given how far it is and because I have an important parcel coming today and my OH can't get out of bed.

Well rant over I guess. Thanks for listening.

[LadyCG]

It helps to get things off your chest. Hope you feel better for it.

[fitdarren]

Can a kindly neighbour not take your parcel in?

[Hopkirk]

I suggest writing a letter to the practice manager outlining the problems you have experienced.

[Buenchico]

I hope that you can get it sorted quickly but it does occur to me that you left it very late to order a repeat prescription.

The rule around here is that patients should allow a minimum of three working days for a repeat prescription to be processed. So I usually put my request in a week to ten days ahead of when I'll need it. I order it online and then pick it up from the pharmacy (which is on the same site as the surgery) about three days later.

[Hopkirk]

Perhaps for the immediate problem ring the surgery and ask to speak directly to the practice manager.

[jno]

just as an aside, Patient Access lists things you've ordered as well as things the GP's approved, so you shouldn't have to wonder if you did place the order, it'll be there on the screen. (Or not, if you really didn't place it.)

[rowanwitch]

I would contact intact your GP practice manager, explain what has happened and ask for your records to be flagged up with a message reminding people of your situation and allowing staff a bit more leeway when ideal by with you. I would also find the contractor running the dispensary, or if it's an independent one you should be able to the a manager/owner and register a complaint. But being left without insulin is significant enough to merit a complaint to the GPC especially as you have no means of talking to a human there. They should be willing to address that issue as it has risk implications.
https://www.pharmacyregulation.org/reporting-concerns

[Xeronema]

All but one of our neighbours died last year and the guy that lives next door is in his 80's. Because of my OH's poor health, we live in an area where I'm the youngest by about 40 years. That's something else that upset me yesterday, our housing organisation has been renovating one of the neighbour's houses before it gets new tenants. The hosting organisation have smashed up the greenhouse that was in the back garden, there was nothing wrong with it. Why not just sell it, or at least give the next tenant the option of keeping it?

I'll just keep pestering the surgery.

[Xeronema]

rowanwitch, we've advanced as fas as we can with the surgery with regard to 'extra assistance'. We have a care coordinator - believe me when I say it was extremely hard to get them to agree to allowing us a liaison. Only problem is, she only works Monday - Wednesday. I'll be having a word with her about this. I just need to get something sorted before 18:00 - that's when the pharmacy closes. If they can order my insulin before close of play today, I should be able to go to the pharmacy tomorrow (I'll have to cancel my OH's care though, as the pharmacy is only open in the morning and that's when my OH has care).

[237SJ]

I used to get 6 months' worth of prescriptions for thyroxine sent to the local chemists and they used to text me when they had prepared it. The chemist is very efficient. Then I had a blood review for the thyroxine and that was enough to completely skew the system. I had to email the surgery to order some more, had a text to say I would hear something in the next 48 hours. I never did hear back from them. Good job it was only thyroxine and not a life saving drug. I ordered it through the NHS app in the end and that seemed to work - you might get more luck via that route.

[bednobs]

i am with buenchico here - ordering is a day before you need it is silly. Are u on a relatively stable dose? If you go to online repeats they'll get sent to you at home - loads of companies do it, andthey are the ones that do the ordering

[Xeronema]

Thanks LadyCG :)

Hopkirk, it isn't possible to speak with the practice manager, she doesn't take calls. The only way is to write to the surgery, wait for a response (hoping they offer a meeting) and if they don't offer a meeting, you ask for one, stating the grievances and that you need to talk to them in person. It took us both over a year to get a meeting with the practice manager and to finally get a liaison, which is all fairness to the practice manager, she has done some good with that.

Chris, if I order a prescription too early, they reject it, especially CD's. Why they can't just postdate prescriptions, I don't know. I ordered the insulin on Wednesday, reordered it with the oxycodone yesterday (that should have put it to the top of the list, with it being a CD) and reordered today. They have had issues with the answerphone service a lot in the past and don't ever seem to update social media to let anyone know.

[Xeronema]

bednobs, I don't use the online system because I still have to do everything over the phone anyway with mine and my partner's meds. We're both on a lot of CD's and they can't be done through NHS app or Patient Access.

I accept I made a mistake, I thought I had 1 insulin pen left and I didn't. The turnaround time is 48 hours so they should have been this morning. It's a bad system because if you order too soon, they refuse the request (especially for CD's) and don't tell you.

[Rosetta]

Could you leave a note on the front door to leave the parcel somewhere safe, I know its a bit risky and far from ideal, but at least you could get to the surgery.
As a general point I feel we should be more demanding of our GP's service and make official complaints, and believe me I am not a complainer

[Xeronema]

On top of that my partner is on weekly scripts, some of which the pharmacy order for her and others they can't. So every week I have to call the prescription line and hope it gets picked up fairly quickly. My old surgery used to batch scripts, so they'd do 4 - 6 weeks worth of my OH's CD's, which was great because I didn't have to worry about remembering to order them. You're not allowed to have spare CD's, they will not give them early, even by a day.

A good example: My OH's oxycodone runs out on Wednesday morning (last dose). I order the oxycodone on Monday, it gets done for Tuesday and I collect either on Tuesday afternoon or Wednesday afternoon. If for what ever reason the doctor doesn't sign off on the prescription and it gets done on Wednesday morning instead of Tuesday, the pharmacy then has to take up the slack and get it done the same day.

[bednobs]

the turnaround time clearly isn't 48 hrs though - you have told us it's not ready.
Pharmacy 2U deliver controlled drugs

[Xeronema]

Rosetta, yeah I'm toying with that idea. My OH knows that the meds are more important than the parcel. I could get lucky and it could turn up before I have to leave :) Thanks for the suggestion, it's appreciated.

[Xeronema]

Well it could be that they don't have a doctor free to do the prescriptions, I don't know. I just know that is what everyone is told, that the turnaround time is up to 48 hours. If it was any other weekday, I probably wouldn't be as panicked.

[bednobs]

if they had done it, wouldnt you still have a problem going to pick it up? or do your dispensary deliver? If getting there is a problem for you, the online ones deliver to your door

[Xeronema]

If they had done it in the normal time, I would have gone to the pharmacy this morning. The pharmacy is round the corner from our house. I'd risk nipping out to go there. The doctors is miles away. I can't wait till I can drive again :)