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nicechap

Amy13 wrote: »

Browntoa -

I worked in a pharmacy in a town centre, went to the opticians within the same company in the same town and then had the option to work in a local pharmacy nearer to where I live within the same company.

Amy13 wrote: »

Shortcrust - It's not a controlled drug but I understand what your saying.

Amy13 wrote: »

Nicki - I had already booked a doctors appointment before this conversation at work happened, it's on Monday!

Amy13 wrote: »

I feel that it isn't over and still under suspicion, just little things but maybe I'm being paranoid.

For instance, on lunch on Monday I went to the petrol station near to where I work to get cash out for my weekly bus pass and get some chocolate. I was asked where I had been. what I was doing by the pharmacist and when I explained I needed cash she demanded to know why.

Also, everytime I've been on lunch, the manager has sat next to me on the table to do paperwork.

Amy13 wrote: »

Yes, this particular pharmacist is always interfering with my life choices, why I don't drink coffee is a thing for her too.

Amy13 wrote: »

I worked late night on Thursday and locked the shop up so had the safe key and the store key. Yesterday on lunch, I was discussing with my manager (she was sat next to me) which colleagues I was handing the keys over to as I am now on annual leave for 2 weeks. When the 2 colleagues had finished their lunches I went to get the keys out of by bag to I could sign them over the mananger followed me and was in my face watching what I was doing with my bag, erm getting the keys out and signing them over like we agreed!

Quoted for posterity.

You appear not to understand the role and responsibilities of a pharmacist, or how work life differs from school life.

A pharmacist has a responsibility to their patients and doctors (there’s a saying that goes doctors saves lives, pharmacists save doctors) and indeed play a major role in the nhs - a quick google search will show you the govt want patients to speak to their pharmacist rather than tie up GPS or A&E. Phatmasists are generally very intelligent people - it takes years and years of training.

Your managers also have a duty of care to you as an employee and if you think they don trust you you have to ask yourself why that is - or here’s a thought, ask your manager rather than the internet why they don’t seem to trust you and what can you do to improve thyour situation. Sometimes the problem is not other people.

[Deleted User]

What you do in your own time is your business and what you spend your money on is up to you, if asked again, explain this to them.

They can suspect all they like, stop worrying, if they suspect you have stolen anything than it would be on camera and if they suspect overuse of drugs, well to be fair, as long as you are following the dosages the prescribing doctor has prescribed for you then you are doing nothing wrong, if a doctor was suspicious on going through the medication too quickly, when you requested the next repeat prescription they wouldn't approve it.

On a side note, I was suffering with similar symptoms as you for a prolonged period of time, try and keep a headache/migraine diary, as it can help look at patterns, and if worried ask about a referral to a neurologist, I was referred and have now been further referred to a specialist clinic the hospital run and receiving treatment that is helping now.

If you have to take medication at work though, it probably is advisable to speak to your line manager, explain what it is and what for and agree where it should be stored and taken away from customers and in a provate room or location within work.

theoretica

I suspect the manager is feeling rather trapped themselves. It isn't at all nice to give your staff the impression you don't trust them, but on the other hand it is very serious to have someone working in a pharmacy and pushing the boundaries with drugs, even over the counter ones. Hopefully the two of you can work out a way though this that doesn't leave you feeling pounced upon and unreasonably watched and doesn't leave the company at risk of blind trust either.

Nicki

If you’ve worked in a pharmacy for 10 years presumably you’ve been fully trained in warning signs and how to address these with patients. As you are both an employee and a patient of the pharmacy, and your pattern of drug use has triggered a concern, why are you so offended that your employer has acted on this? Surely you don’t think they should have ignored warning signs just because you work there? Their actions so far seem proportionate to the situation you have described - they haven’t ordered a mandatory drug test for example, they are just keeping an eye on your consumption during working hours and flagging that your use of prescribed medication is outside normal bounds

Nicki

Yes, you are under suspicion- not necessarily of wrongdoing in the sense of theft, but of having a dependency and you are being watched to ensure that you aren’t taking medication at work. Why is this hard to understand and why does this offend you given the facts you have admitted to?

Nicki

You aren’t going to die if you lay off the co-codamol and prescription pain killers however which is what you’ve actually been challenged over, and what they appear to be watching you over...

elsien

Amy13 wrote: »

Sumatriptan isn't a 'painkiller'. I needed to take my inhaler yesterday but was too afraid of getting it out of my bag incase I'm accused of stealing.

Now you're definitely overthinking it.
You have to talk to your manager about this, it's going to carry on getting sillier otherwise.

[Deleted User]

If a medication is prescribed then you don't need to lay off it, its prescribed for a reason!

Les79

Could you not speak to your GP about either:


- Getting a doctors note specifying their recommendation for how many pills you need to pop per day and then getting your manager on board with that plan?


- More natural remedies which don't involve drugs?

TELLIT01

Looking at the wider picture of pharmicist responsibility, my wife was extremely annoyed yesterday. She has recently had a change of medication, all talked through fully with her GP, and went to collect the new prescription.

The pharmacist was questioning why the medication had been changed, whether the dosage was appropriate, when my wife was seeing the GP again etc, etc. My wife is a strong enough character to be prepared simply to tell the pharmacist that everything had already been discussed with the GP and she saw no reason to explain/discuss any of this with the pharmacist.
I actually had a similar experience with the same place, pressure being applied to discuss my medication with them. I strongly suspect that they get paid for these 'consultations' and that is a major driver in the pressure they apply. I told them the same thing - my GP has a far greater knowledge of my medical history and I will discuss things with them when necessary.