MONEY MORAL DILEMMA: Should Victor use his local pharmacist?

davidlaine

I buy everything I can from a small independent pharmacy, even when it's cheaper at the supermarket. Our small local butcher closed due to big money-grabbing supermarkets, we're fighting to keep our small local Post Office open, and I think it's vital we support these local shops. I am a pensioner on limited means.

Daisies

I'd buy from the local pharmacy - has he factored in the cost of getting to the supermarket? Fair enough to buy a box of paracetamol etc whilst doing a regular shopping trip there, but to make a special trip to the supermarket pharmacy would cost as much in petrol as he would save on cheaper things! And if he's using his free bus pass there is still the time factor to consider.

I've always found that my local pharmacy wherever I've lived (sometimes independent, sometimes a Coop or Gordon Davis one) has always offered helpful advice and taken the time to answer questions and check up on things. They also have all of the (six!) blood pressure drugs my Mum is on in stock, which the supermarket pharmacies never seem to have. And for people without a car or unable to use public transport they are a lifeline.

Whereas the supermarket pharmacies I've used have been dreadful - very little privacy, and always very busy and very noisy. Once I was sold a travel sickness remedy (by the pharmacist, she had a badge on) without being asked whether I was on any other medication (I assumed as she hadn't asked, there weren't any possible side effects of mixing it). Went home, took it, and spent the next 3 days in bed feeling awful and had to miss the trip I was going on! The pharmacist had had a massive queue of people to deal with and was rushed off her feet. I'd much rather go somewhere local now where I get a better service.

wensmcg

I think Victor needs to decide what he can afford and what is important to him.

I am a pharmacist, but i work in the hospital. I buy small packets of paracetamol from the supermarket whilst shopping but for anything else I support my local chemist shop (there is no pharmacy in the supermarkets in our town). Its within easy walking distance, they know me and my hubby - who always forgets to order his prescriptions on time - which they sort out almost instantly, and I can park if I need to or nip next door for a laof from the corner shop.

Community pharmacists offer excellent value from money, generally they offer excellent advice which is free, you dont need an appointment - unlike the GP - and the payment they receive from prescriptions is pretty pathetic to be honest, so yes in some cases they may charge a bit more for some medicines because they dotn have the bulk buying power of the supermarket. And they are much cheaper to the nhs than GPs.

on top of this if victor gets prescriptions from the pharmacy as well they probably keepa record and may advise him of likely interactions, problems side effects and things to avoid. And certainly when i was a community pharmacist I always told someone the cheapest option - even if that was sometimes not buying anything.

AND the whole price difference thing is the fault of the supermarkets anyway. It used to be illegal to offer medicines at discount prices etc. Because they were considered to not be "ordinary articles of commerce" the price of a medicine should probably not be the thing that makes you buy it, when all said and done they can be dangerous if not used correctly. For someone who might have other medical conditions or other medicines (including herbal) it is safer to get advice.

I liken this to eggs and coffee, strange though it may be. I dont agree with chickens being kept in small cages, so I always buy free range. They are more expensive but I feel that it is worth it for my conscience. I buy eco-friendly and fair trade in many cases depending on what I can afford, becasue I think these things are important.

If having a readily accessible local community pharmacist is what Victor feels is important, sometimes this comes at a small price. But shoudl the pharmacy close - what becomes the price then?

JayD

Well, I think this is a hard decision because we don't know how financially strapped Victor is.

If he is not struggling, then he should support his local pharmacist, keep his carbon footprint down and help keep that local option open for when he is less able to travel.

But if he is having problems making ends meet - (I assume he travels to the supermarket for free as a pensioner) - then it makes sense for him to use the supermarket pharmacy at the same time as getting his shopping. I would think that he shops there regularly anyway.

In my experience, supermarket pharmacists are just as helpful and willing to give advice as local pharmacists. BUT the day may come when Victor is not physcially able to travel to the supermarket and he may need the convenience of a pharmacy nearby.

So I think that, if he can afford it, he should support his local but if he can't, then he shouldn't fret about it and should use the supermarket one as long as he is able and hope others in his community will manage to keep the local one open.

COOLTRIKERCHICK

now this is a dilema.......

as porb... is heart and his loyalty is telling him to go to the local chemist.. but maybe his very tight budget is telling him to go to the supermarket...

if he lived in wales.. his prescriptions would now be free...

i must admit i would use the chemist... as it is keeping local community and independant shops open......

i done a challenge a while back on the os board... a month without the supermarkets... which after the month i still do 99 % of my shopping outside a supermarket....

as i found overall i saved money on my weekly shopping budget....

imo.. i think victor shoud use the local chemist.....as a lot of local chemists offer a free delivery service... for prescriptions etc...... and maybe one day victor might need that service as he cant get to the chemist....

as you can see from my sig... i am anti-supermarkets anyway.....

edit.....also as victor is a pensioner..... he does not pay for his perscriptions.... and a lot of over the counter things.... victor could get on perscriptions.....hence he does not have to pay.... so he could use the local pharmacy.....

earthmother

As someone on a limited income, I always support the local chemist. However, in my case, they're often better stocked, and usually similarly if not better priced, than the local supermarkets, and Boots for that matter.


Case in point - some items I've recently bought -

The chemist's Andrex loo roll is the cheapest in town (competing against Sainsburys, Tesco, Co-op, Wilkinsons and a couple of independants) - it's also the only place you can get 2 roll packs.

The chemist was the first in town to stock the larger packs of Anadin that are now available - and hubby goes through them at a rate of knots, so the 'bulk' price is a big help.

They are the only chemist willing to order large boxes of latex examination gloves for me (don't ask).

And who had a staple of chemists - nail clippers - in stock this morning? - not Boots, Wilko's or the supermarkets, I can tell you.


They also have the cheapest (quality) baby bottles, toilet training seats, hairbands, emery boards - the list could go on.

And to top it all - they know me, and my family, by name - they keep the kids amused if we have to wait longer than usual for our many prescriptions - crikey, they even keep a supply of coppers on the till so no little one's are disappointed when they ask mummy to put some pennies in the doggy (Guide dog collection).


I'd feel guilty not supporting them, be lost without them (as I'm sure Victor would be if he really thought about it) - and it's not making much if any difference to my purse.

jim_woodley

Yes, pure and simple. Supermarkets have very little interest in providing a personal service.They need to have a large throughput in order to maintain prices a shade lower than private businesses. Money isn't necessarily everything in this type of situation.

antoniomontana

If he's a pensioner the medication will be free anyway, so price shouldn't be an issue here, any OTC meds he needs can be written on a prescription by his Dr.
the local pharmacist is usually able to provide a much better service than one at a supermarket, he probably knows the customers better and is able to interact with them on a personal level, many local pharmacist also know other members of the family too so everything has a personal touch and the advice is usually excellent
The pharmacist at the supermarket will not know the customers that well due to the large volumes that come in, also they are more worried about meeting targets set by the companies therefore the level of service provided won't be as great as his local pharmacist.

percyplant

he should use the local pharmacy whenever possible. He's getting advice and saving on travel so probably getting his money's worth. Also lets not forget that only the local pharmacy is going to know his prescription record so if theres any confusion in the future, the local pharmacy is more likely to be able to sort it out for him

Gingham_Ribbon

He can get advice from NHS direct. If money is tight, he should buy his drugs from wherever is cheaper. They're over the counter drugs so he doesn't need the supermarket to have a pharmacy counter. We all have to accept our limitations and we can't 'make a difference' at the expense of our health.

However, if he genuinely could afford it, he and the other locals should be supporting the local chemist. If it shuts down and they need prescription medication they may find they have a bit of a journey on their hands just when that is most difficult for them.