Refund for wrong prescription item

rafhelp

Got the refund today.
In regards to some vouchers they sent, I was told that they were delivered but due to not being in it was returned to depot and they 'should' have left a missed delivery collection card, but i never got one....its like one issue after another...talk about incompetence

slashlover

Why are you not complaining to your GP who wrote the prescription?

rafhelp

I could but the thing is the item he prescribed does not contain the ingredient. But it has to be the right brand, there are several brands of that medicine and most do contain that ingredient, so its upto the pharmacist to make sure that the right brand was dispensed

Manxman_in_exile

When you collect your prescription you should always check they've dispensed the right stuff before you leave the pharmacy. (My local independent pharmacy has loads of notices telling people to do that. I think it's become more of a problem since the introduction of electronic scrips which the patient doesn't see before collecting the medicine).


If they've given you the wrong brand containing the ingredient you aren't allowed to take, point it out there and then before you leave. If you have a repeat counterfoil show them that they have not dispensed the prescription correctly and explain to them that you are allergic etc to one of the ingredients. If they can't or won't sort it out for you, go to another pharmacy and make a formal complaint against the chain and the pharmacist.


I regularly collect prescriptions for my wife, and pharmacies don't always stock one of the medications prescribed. I always ask when presenting the scrip "Can you dispense this?" and if they can't I go elsewhere. Sometimes I even 'phone them beforehand.


If you don't have paper scrips (eg an electronic scrip goes direct from your GP to the pharmacy) I would (a) ask the GP to ensure your e-scrip specifies the brand and why it must be that brand and (b) ask your GP to give you a letter specifying the brand and why, which letter you can then use to argue the toss with the pharmacist.


Easy for me to say: my GP is five minutes walk one way and my pharmacist is five minutes the other. And I can get to half a dozen other pharmacies in 30 minutes. If you have no practical choice but to use the chain in question, I would explain the problem to your GP (or Practice Manager) and ask them to liaise with the pharmacy to sort this out. I would also be contacting their head office again for an ongoing solution - point out to them they don't want the bad publicity of you going into allergic shock because they've not followed the GP's clear instructions!


And if you personally collect from the pharmacy - always check they've dispensed the correct stuff before leaving.

boo_star

Manxman_in_exile wrote: »

When you collect your prescription you should always check they've dispensed the right stuff before you leave the pharmacy. (My local independent pharmacy has loads of notices telling people to do that. I think it's become more of a problem since the introduction of electronic scrips which the patient doesn't see before collecting the medicine).


If they've given you the wrong brand containing the ingredient you aren't allowed to take, point it out there and then before you leave. If you have a repeat counterfoil show them that they have not dispensed the prescription correctly and explain to them that you are allergic etc to one of the ingredients. If they can't or won't sort it out for you, go to another pharmacy and make a formal complaint against the chain and the pharmacist.


I regularly collect prescriptions for my wife, and pharmacies don't always stock one of the medications prescribed. I always ask when presenting the scrip "Can you dispense this?" and if they can't I go elsewhere. Sometimes I even 'phone them beforehand.


If you don't have paper scrips (eg an electronic scrip goes direct from your GP to the pharmacy) I would (a) ask the GP to ensure your e-scrip specifies the brand and why it must be that brand and (b) ask your GP to give you a letter specifying the brand and why, which letter you can then use to argue the toss with the pharmacist.


Easy for me to say: my GP is five minutes walk one way and my pharmacist is five minutes the other. And I can get to half a dozen other pharmacies in 30 minutes. If you have no practical choice but to use the chain in question, I would explain the problem to your GP (or Practice Manager) and ask them to liaise with the pharmacy to sort this out. I would also be contacting their head office again for an ongoing solution - point out to them they don't want the bad publicity of you going into allergic shock because they've not followed the GP's clear instructions!


And if you personally collect from the pharmacy - always check they've dispensed the correct stuff before leaving.

Completely agree, especially if you have an allergy that could kill you. When you're dead, you're dead.

rafhelp

You do know these guys get paid 25-50k a year to check your prescriptions...


And after that, and having your PMR and notes they still get it wrong...

rafhelp

You can be sure i dont really have much faith in pharmacy profession, im not saying i dont value it, i do value it but i think the politics is all wrong and its all commercially driven these days rather than focused on patient care esp community pharmacies.


Ive worked in chemists before myself and the service i was expected to deliver and did was better than this.


Back to this thread. today i found out the head office sent me some vouchers in the post, that were not delivered, but the postman forgot to leave a missed delivery card, and i got the tracking number from them after 18 days had passed since attempted delivery and so royal mail wont redeliver it. Amazing... this has been a complete farce from start to finish. I guess you cant get the staff these days.


oh Well..

Manxman_in_exile

Do what I suggest in #15.


And/or, find another pharmacy (if you can).


As I said in #8, I'm a former NHS manager and I would trust my local pharmacist more than any GP on questions of medication.


If you follow the steps I suggest and get nowhere (which I would find hard to believe) make formal complaints against both the chain and the individual pharmacist. And go to another pharmacy.


Are you able to check the medication before leaving the pharmacy? If yes, are you saying the pharmacist still refuses to correct what they've dispensed?


If the scrip makes it clear what must/must not be dispensed, I find it difficult to imagine the circumstances in which the pharmacist would refuse to correct any error which is pointed out immediately. And if it's happened once, I'm amazed it would be repeated.


(As in #15, I'd be notifying my GP and/or Practice Manager for assistance. The pharmacist is being unreasonable - assuming the scrip is perfectly clear).

Manxman_in_exile

rafhelp wrote: »

You can be sure i dont really have much faith in pharmacy profession, im not saying i dont value it, i do value it but i think the politics is all wrong and its all commercially driven these days rather than focused on patient care esp community pharmacies.


Ive worked in chemists before myself and the service i was expected to deliver and did was better than this.


Back to this thread. today i found out the head office sent me some vouchers in the post, that were not delivered, but the postman forgot to leave a missed delivery card, and i got the tracking number from them after 18 days had passed since attempted delivery and so royal mail wont redeliver it. Amazing... this has been a complete farce from start to finish. I guess you cant get the staff these days.


oh Well..

Before the above post was edited, it said that you knew other pharmacists who didn't talk all day - in the context that you were not allowed to train as a pharmacist because your English was not good enough - despite it being your first language and you having a masters degree.


If you know other pharmacists, can't you try them? Or can't you ask for their advice as to how to handle this problem? Even if they're no longer local to you, or they're somewhere you used to work, I would just contact them by 'phone etc. and ask them what to do in your situation.


Better than perhaps dying from an allergy.

rafhelp

say you got some rehydration milkshakes from a chemist on prescription. then you had them and detested the kiwi flavour ones, then month later you got a new prescription and you told the chemist you really dont like the kiwi flavour ones and you cant take them as a result, but then you find in the bag they have given all kiwi flavour ones. although its not a clinical issue, its still a major blunder as they have not given you what you asked for.


Imagine ordering a new car off the internet and you asked for a blue colour one but instead they sent a red one, you wouldnt be happy you might detest red and you woul have a right to exchange it, but just imagine if they then sent a green one and you also didnt like that one.


if you went to a barber and asked for a short back and sides but they gave you a mohican or perm you wouldnt be happy.


if you went to mcdonald and asked for a veg burger cos your strict vegan but they give you a beef burger, and as youre in a hurry and hungry you just open it and take a bite you wouldnt and shouldnt be happy.


all im saying is just because its a chemist and its not a clinical issue doesnt make it any less serious an issue.