Doctors vs embedded pharmacy - alignment vs separate entities

k3lvc

c. 5yrs ago our (large) village GP practice built an extension and inserted it's own pharmacy 'selling' it to patients as an aligned service and encouraging us to use it vs the original, independent village pharmacy

During Covid/post-Brexit things have been challenging with out of stocks etc but in recent months service has deteriorated culminating in for non-available items Pharmacy suggesting patient walks 6ft back to GP receptionist to start the prescription cycle for an alternative item. This despite having had repeat prescription for 10-14 days between them.

Complaint to pharmacy ignored completely
Complaint to GP surgery says 'nothing to do with us - they're a separate business'

Normally I'd accept/change pharmacy except 7it's generally convenient and opening hours suit

Complication/annoyance is that GP is ABC Practice Ltd and Pharmacy is ABC Pharmacy Ltd both part of ABC Holdings Ltd with same directors/addresses. However ABC Pharmacy Ltd seems to trade visibly as DEF Pharmacy Ltd which doesn't exist in Companies House. On the basis of being separate business they claim they cannot exchange information between each other.

Are my expectations of communication between Pharmacy and Surgery unrealistic/worth fighting for or do I just walk away ??

clearancer

You are lucky to have a pharmacy adjacent to your GP. My pharmacy is 15 minutes walk from the GP. Recently, many prescription items are unavailable or out of stock. It is your GP that is at fault, not keeping themselves up to date about what is available. It is not the job of the pharmacy to communicate with your GP when your GP prescribes something that isn't available. I did a quick google and there are several documents aimed at GPs giving advice on what is out of stock or no longer available on prescription (due to price increases). Your GP is the one that needs to get their act together.

MovingForwards

How about your previous chemist? Can you do the repeats via them or do they not have the stock either?

If the stock isn't around your GP needs to provide a different prescription for what is about.

I've had to totally swap meds as my usual ones will not be available for a few months, if I'm lucky. That was after a couple of calls to my normal chemist who never initially told me they couldn't get them, calling several different chemists to see if their suppliers could get them and having an emergency phone consultation with a Dr at my practice to get a new med.

Robin9

I'd walk -  go to one of the online Pharmacies and have your prescriptions delivered.

sheramber

Not unique to your pharmacy

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-08-10/pharmacists-concerned-over-medicine-shortages

jon81uk

Ask for the prescription to be sent to the other pharmacy if they have stock.

k3lvc

Moving to alternative pharmacy always an option (although more difficult with distance/opening time and lack of 'digitalisation') - more annoyed about lack of provision on what should be a harmonised solution

And to summarise the issue isn't about lack of medicines - I know that's an issue - it's about what happens when something's not available and why they don't talk to each other if they're the same business in the same building

sheramber

The GP needs to decide if an alternative is suitable, work out the dosage  and write out a new prescription. The pharmacist cannot dispense without a prescription from the doctor.

The pharmacist is there to dispense prescriptions, not  to speak to a GP, who may not be available immediately.
  

k3lvc

sheramber said:

The GP needs to decide if an alternative is suitable, work out the dosage  and write out a new prescription. The pharmacist cannot dispense without a prescription from the doctor.

The pharmacist is there to dispense prescriptions, not  to speak to a GP, who may not be available immediately.
  

Fully understand - but my specific was Drug A 20mg not available but Drug A 10mg is available - why, within the same building/business, do they wait for me to collect, tell me it's not available, then push me back to GP to re-prescribe ?

Anyway it's a rhetorical question now as pharmacy changed and new one has a promise to tell me as soon as prescription received if there's an issue rather than waiting until collection

TripleH

Are you sure they are trading as DEF Pharmacy 'Limited' and not just DEF Pharmacy?

McDonalds franchise restaurants trade as McDonalds but will have something like Koltz Holdings Ltd t/a McDonalds somewhere for public view.

Or has the surgery bought out another Limited company and dissolved it but forgotten to change all paperwork?