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[Varche]

My dad manages independent living with carers twice a day.

His eight tablets a day are delivered weekly in a nomad ( daily dispensing box) by the local chemist.

They are kept in a locked box by the carers in his house and each day the carer prompts him to take them. So far so good.

Sadly the chemist “ forgets” to do and or send the box some weeks. Our solution has been to have the care company send a team leader out specially each Thursday to ensure next weeks has arrived and if not chase up with chemist and then go and collect it. No extra cost to us.

Apparently other chemists let their clients down similarly and have carers chasing them.

Anyone on here have a similar experience?

I have in mind to write to the chemist to complain but suspect it will be shrugged off as it has in the past when I called in. Presumably the nhs/ taxpayer foots the bill for deliveries? Is there a governing body that monitors performance? Or am I flogging a dead horse ( again)?

[STEMO]

Chemists are run off their feet and make very little money from dispensing prescriptions. They could easily tell you that if you don't like it, you know what to do.

[Migv6 le Frog Fan]

Every chemist shop I go into seems to have four or five people working there. They can usually be heard chatting in the dispensary bit out the back of the shop.
Once in a while, one of them comes out front and serves a customer or two, no matter how long the queue or how long people have been stood waiting to be served.
It seems to be the standard model for Chemists that no other type of shop could get  away with for some strange reason.

[Rangie]

We changed our GP practice last year because I was given advice by the newly qualified diabetic nurse which was total rubbish , changed over saw the diabetic nurse in the new practice who agreed with me that everything was indeed absolutely spot on , all prescriptions are requested  on the NHS app and they text me when they are ready for collection, consider ourselves very lucky to  have been recommended this practice, all staff including the dispensing chemists are always cheerful & chatty.

[LC0112G]

What I don't get is...The pharmacists' job appears to be counting. Not sure when it became a requirement to have a university degree to count up to 14 (or multiples thereof)

You get your prescription, walk into the chemist, hand it over. You can see your box of pills on the shelf behind them, but will they just hand the box over. Will they hell. A "Minion" has to take the box to "the Pharmacist", who then takes the box, opens it up, counts all the pills, seals it up again, gives it back to the Minion, who puts it in a paper bag with a repeat prescription chit. The ordeal still isn't over - the minion shouts out your name, asks for address, asks do you pay (well someone has to!) then reads you the riot act about not taking certain pills with certain others etc.

So it takes at least 2 people 15 minutes to move a pre-sealed box of pills about 3 feet from the shelf where they were stacked to the "customer". You get home, take that day's pills and wash them down with a nice single malt.

[STEMO]

We changed our GP practice last year because I was given advice by the newly qualified diabetic nurse which was total rubbish , changed over saw the diabetic nurse in the new practice who agreed with me that everything was indeed absolutely spot on , all prescriptions are requested  on the NHS app and they text me when they are ready for collection, consider ourselves very lucky to  have been recommended this practice, all staff including the dispensing chemists are always cheerful & chatty.

Exactly the same for me, the app is called Airmid UK.

[Nick W]

What I don't get is...The pharmacists' job appears to be counting. Not sure when it became a requirement to have a university degree to count up to 14 (or multiples thereof)


So it takes at least 2 people 15 minutes to move a pre-sealed box of pills about 3 feet from the shelf where they were stacked to the "customer". You get home, take that day's pills and wash them down with a nice single malt.

The pharmacist's job is checking, not counting. They're checking that the prescription is safe both singly and in combination with other medications, correctly prescribed(the right dose, chemical, amount etc), labelled and given to the correct person before putting their name and reputation on it. It's not unusual for a pharmacist phone the prescribing doctor and read them the riot act about dangerous prescriptions as they have far more understanding of how the drugs actually work, and don't just look up the symptoms and likely drug in  a list.


What you're implying is the equivalent of Boeing relying on the new, barely trained, over-worked employee being able to fit a door panel without supervision and inspection. Or some fool designing his own deep water submersible.

[LC0112G]

What I don't get is...The pharmacists' job appears to be counting. Not sure when it became a requirement to have a university degree to count up to 14 (or multiples thereof)


So it takes at least 2 people 15 minutes to move a pre-sealed box of pills about 3 feet from the shelf where they were stacked to the "customer". You get home, take that day's pills and wash them down with a nice single malt.

The pharmacist's job is checking, not counting. They're checking that the prescription is safe both singly and in combination with other medications, correctly prescribed(the right dose, chemical, amount etc), labelled and given to the correct person before putting their name and reputation on it. It's not unusual for a pharmacist phone the prescribing doctor and read them the riot act about dangerous prescriptions as they have far more understanding of how the drugs actually work, and don't just look up the symptoms and likely drug in  a list.


What you're implying is the equivalent of Boeing relying on the new, barely trained, over-worked employee being able to fit a door panel without supervision and inspection. Or some fool designing his own deep water submersible.

I disagree. 99.999% of prescriptions are pills in pre-packed blisters. Opening the packet tells you nothing. If the pills in the blister is the wrong drug, or the wrong strength they won't know. They don't grind one up to measure it's strength and there is no visual difference between a 2mg, 5mg, 10mg, 20mg pill. Even if there were you can't see through the foil covering the pill in the blister.

At best they are counting the number of pills, and checking that the drug name and strength printed on the blister foil is the same as on the cardboard box. If there is no other pill on the prescription they can't tell if it contradicts other medication. I'm on Esomeprosol, and I soon learnt not to ask for Ibruprofen at the same time coz you get the riot act read to you. Just buy the Ibruprofen later.

In the old days when pills came in a large 'sweetie' jar and they had to count them out into a bottle using that triangular measuring thingy then yes perhaps Pharmacists had a role. Nowadays, nope - simply more NHS inefficiency. Most pills could be dispensed by a vending machine in one tenth the time and a fraction of the cost - especially repeat prescriptions.

[YZ250]

My dad manages independent living with carers twice a day.

His eight tablets a day are delivered weekly in a nomad ( daily dispensing box) by the local chemist.
………..

My parents had their repeat medication delivered monthly, and the pharmacy told me to order the following months medication at the end of the week before the final week of the month. That way they always had a weeks grace, so they were always covered. 

[countrywoman]

Because the chemist in town is about 2ft closer to my flat than the pharmacy at the docs I have to ask the chemist to ring the docs for them to okay the meds as they wont do them on repeat ,when a doc has got round to looking at the request they then send a prescription to the chemist who then has to get it ordered. Took over 2 weeks quite a few times, daft thing is I am on these meds till I turn my toes up but the cant put them on repeat----------

[YZ250]

…..
all prescriptions are requested  on the NHS app and they text me when they are ready for collection,  …….

Yep same here.    Our app is Patient Access, which is what I use for my repeat medication that I’ll need for the rest of my life.

[johnnydog]

What I don't get is...The pharmacists' job appears to be counting. Not sure when it became a requirement to have a university degree to count up to 14 (or multiples thereof)


So it takes at least 2 people 15 minutes to move a pre-sealed box of pills about 3 feet from the shelf where they were stacked to the "customer". You get home, take that day's pills and wash them down with a nice single malt.

The pharmacist's job is checking, not counting. They're checking that the prescription is safe both singly and in combination with other medications, correctly prescribed(the right dose, chemical, amount etc), labelled and given to the correct person before putting their name and reputation on it. It's not unusual for a pharmacist phone the prescribing doctor and read them the riot act about dangerous prescriptions as they have far more understanding of how the drugs actually work, and don't just look up the symptoms and likely drug in  a list.


What you're implying is the equivalent of Boeing relying on the new, barely trained, over-worked employee being able to fit a door panel without supervision and inspection. Or some fool designing his own deep water submersible.

I disagree. 99.999% of prescriptions are pills in pre-packed blisters. Opening the packet tells you nothing. If the pills in the blister is the wrong drug, or the wrong strength they won't know. They don't grind one up to measure it's strength and there is no visual difference between a 2mg, 5mg, 10mg, 20mg pill. Even if there were you can't see through the foil covering the pill in the blister.

At best they are counting the number of pills, and checking that the drug name and strength printed on the blister foil is the same as on the cardboard box. If there is no other pill on the prescription they can't tell if it contradicts other medication. I'm on Esomeprosol, and I soon learnt not to ask for Ibruprofen at the same time coz you get the riot act read to you. Just buy the Ibruprofen later.

In the old days when pills came in a large 'sweetie' jar and they had to count them out into a bottle using that triangular measuring thingy then yes perhaps Pharmacists had a role. Nowadays, nope - simply more NHS inefficiency. Most pills could be dispensed by a vending machine in one tenth the time and a fraction of the cost - especially repeat prescriptions.

I find that quite surprising being honest. Both myself and my wife have regular prescriptions, and the cardboard box containing the blister packs are never opened, and they are presented in the paper bag still intact with the clear seal on the box. This is the same whichever chemist we use.

[Rangie]

What I don't get is...The pharmacists' job appears to be counting. Not sure when it became a requirement to have a university degree to count up to 14 (or multiples thereof)


So it takes at least 2 people 15 minutes to move a pre-sealed box of pills about 3 feet from the shelf where they were stacked to the "customer". You get home, take that day's pills and wash them down with a nice single malt.

The pharmacist's job is checking, not counting. They're checking that the prescription is safe both singly and in combination with other medications, correctly prescribed(the right dose, chemical, amount etc), labelled and given to the correct person before putting their name and reputation on it. It's not unusual for a pharmacist phone the prescribing doctor and read them the riot act about dangerous prescriptions as they have far more understanding of how the drugs actually work, and don't just look up the symptoms and likely drug in  a list.


What you're implying is the equivalent of Boeing relying on the new, barely trained, over-worked employee being able to fit a door panel without supervision and inspection. Or some fool designing his own deep water submersible.

I disagree. 99.999% of prescriptions are pills in pre-packed blisters. Opening the packet tells you nothing. If the pills in the blister is the wrong drug, or the wrong strength they won't know. They don't grind one up to measure it's strength and there is no visual difference between a 2mg, 5mg, 10mg, 20mg pill. Even if there were you can't see through the foil covering the pill in the blister.

At best they are counting the number of pills, and checking that the drug name and strength printed on the blister foil is the same as on the cardboard box. If there is no other pill on the prescription they can't tell if it contradicts other medication. I'm on Esomeprosol, and I soon learnt not to ask for Ibruprofen at the same time coz you get the riot act read to you. Just buy the Ibruprofen later.

In the old days when pills came in a large 'sweetie' jar and they had to count them out into a bottle using that triangular measuring thingy then yes perhaps Pharmacists had a role. Nowadays, nope - simply more NHS inefficiency. Most pills could be dispensed by a vending machine in one tenth the time and a fraction of the cost - especially repeat prescriptions.

I find that quite surprising being honest. Both myself and my wife have regular prescriptions, and the cardboard box containing the blister packs are never opened, and they are presented in the paper bag still intact with the clear seal on the box. This is the same whichever chemist we use.

.

Exactly the same here mine are always completely sealed & quite honestly that's the way I want them they should not have been opened by anyone other than myself.

[STEMO]

Last time I saw a pharmacist 'counting', using that triangular device, was about 30 years ago. As above, my pills come in sealed, unopened boxes.

[Kevin Wood]

What I don't get is...The pharmacists' job appears to be counting. Not sure when it became a requirement to have a university degree to count up to 14 (or multiples thereof)


So it takes at least 2 people 15 minutes to move a pre-sealed box of pills about 3 feet from the shelf where they were stacked to the "customer". You get home, take that day's pills and wash them down with a nice single malt.

The pharmacist's job is checking, not counting.

You missed out "Explaining for the umpteenth time how to take the medicine you've been taking since before (s)he was born".