Tesco Pharmacy - when polite is not polite

Exodi

Albermarle said:

I suspect either the cost of a prescription needs to go up,

NHS prescriptions are free for people in NI, Scotland and Wales and free for everyone over 60, full time students and some people on low incomes. Plus certain drugs are free such as contraceptive pills, insulin etc 

So approx 90% of NHS prescriptions are not actually charged for, so unlikely that increasing the cost for the 10% would have any effect.

Oh wow, every day is a school day. I'm fortunate enough to have only needed a couple of prescriptions in my life and assumed free prescriptions were just for low income individuals. If it's free for everyone over 60, and considering the biggest users of prescriptions are older people, I guess it's no suprise that the significant majority of prescriptions are free. 

Well knowing that, it could be looked at why prescriptions are free for all over 60's (given the premise of this thread that pharmacies are underfunded). I'm not for one minute suggesting those in receipt of pension credit should have to pay.

NHS eligibility is so inconsistent between departments. Over 60's don't automatically get free dental care (for example). I suspect decisions like these may be based on the dated view that 'pensioner = poor', which is perhaps less relevant now than it once was.

ComicGeek

Exodi said:

ComicGeek said:

While there's no excuse for abusive behaviour, there is a huge amount of anxiety at present around medication. I have to pickup prescriptions for my chronically ill wife on a weekly basis, and quite often have to visit 2/3 pharmacies trying to hunt down key medications due to staff shortages closing pharmacies at short notice, pharmacies not placing orders in time, deliveries not being made, or general product shortages. 

It's probably the most stressful thing I've ever known, desperately trying to hunt down medication. Some pharamacists are brilliant and work really hard, normally making themselves really ill in the process - others are really dismissive, and just don't care. 

Not condoning any abusive behaviour, but see a lot of people in tears/panicking when their medication isn't available and they have a genuine need. A bit of staff training would go a long way to deflate issues before they escalate - the local approach of sticking an untrained 16 year old on the front desk just doesn't work (not least because watching them count out the coins given and then working out change is painful!).  

It seems quite a circular point then, because the underlying cause seems to be (lack of) staffing and the effect seems to be (some reprehensible) customers abusing staff.

Obviously as pharmacies become synonymous as places to work if you want old people to throw wobblies at you, no-one will want to work there except short term 'untrained 16 year olds'.

I suspect either the cost of a prescription needs to go up, or the government needs to increase subsidies to pharmacies to make the job worth it.

It's already a delicate service, and older people (which is the general demographic) aren't renowned for their patience.

The main issue was when prescriptions were limited to a maximum of 1 months worth of medication, and some of my wife's medication is only 2 weeks. So rather than making 1 trip to the pharmacy each month I am now doing it at least once a week. Some of the people queuing are there 2/3 times a week. All in a drive to save the NHS money on unused medication, but it takes the pharmacist and staff much longer to process 3-6 individual prescriptions rather than 1 larger prescription, as well as costing us much more as we pay for each prescription rather than the actual amount.

With the current supply issues it probably isn't possible to provide 3 months worth. I regularly get given a few days worth of a month long prescription as they are having to spread supply across all patients - I then have to go back every few days for small top-ups. Sometimes there at closing time begging for something as my wife runs out that evening.

I don't think people without serious illnesses, or those who care for those who do, realise the stresses involved with this. Its just another thing that's broken in this country, and now the government wants to put more work on pharmacists.

baser999

ComicGeek said:

While there's no excuse for abusive behaviour, there is a huge amount of anxiety at present around medication. I have to pickup prescriptions for my chronically ill wife on a weekly basis, and quite often have to visit 2/3 pharmacies trying to hunt down key medications due to staff shortages closing pharmacies at short notice, pharmacies not placing orders in time, deliveries not being made, or general product shortages. 

It's probably the most stressful thing I've ever known, desperately trying to hunt down medication. Some pharamacists are brilliant and work really hard, normally making themselves really ill in the process - others are really dismissive, and just don't care. 

Not condoning any abusive behaviour, but see a lot of people in tears/panicking when their medication isn't available and they have a genuine need. A bit of staff training would go a long way to deflate issues before they escalate - the local approach of sticking an untrained 16 year old on the front desk just doesn't work (not least because watching them count out the coins given and then working out change is painful!).  

Why not arrange for your wife’s medications to be delivered to the door? 

badmemory

baser999 said:

Why not arrange for your wife’s medications to be delivered to the door? 

Because you have to stay in all the time because you have absolutely no idea when they will turn up & they won't post them through the door & some pharmacies are not very reliable .

TheBanker

My friend works in a pharmacy that's attached to a doctor's surgery. She says there's quite a problem with people dropping prescriptions off, but never coming back to collect the medicine. They'll have made the prescription up. If it's not collected they can usually re-use it for someone else, but it's wasting time and meaning some people can't get what they need because stock is tied up waiting for collections that will never happen.

Maybe the people got better and didn't need the medicine after all, but if so you'd think they'd let the pharmacy know....

Albermarle

NHS eligibility is so inconsistent between departments. Over 60's don't automatically get free dental care (for example). I suspect decisions like these may be based on the dated view that 'pensioner = poor', which is perhaps less relevant now than it once was.

You are right it is inconsistent and I get free prescriptions although I could easily afford to pay for them. On the other hand NHS dentist still charges ( if you can find one ) I have a friend who gets Winter Fuel Allowance ( being over SP age) and his younger OH earns nearly £100k pa . Anyway means testing  is a discussion for another day so will leave it there.

Albermarle

TheBanker said:

My friend works in a pharmacy that's attached to a doctor's surgery. She says there's quite a problem with people dropping prescriptions off, but never coming back to collect the medicine. They'll have made the prescription up. If it's not collected they can usually re-use it for someone else, but it's wasting time and meaning some people can't get what they need because stock is tied up waiting for collections that will never happen.

Maybe the people got better and didn't need the medicine after all, but if so you'd think they'd let the pharmacy know....

My OH has been for a blood test yesterday. The Phlebotomist said already that morning, four people with appointments had not turned up. 
Not everybody is as responsible as maybe you/we are.

MalMonroe

badmemory said:

baser999 said:

Why not arrange for your wife’s medications to be delivered to the door? 

Because you have to stay in all the time because you have absolutely no idea when they will turn up & they won't post them through the door & some pharmacies are not very reliable .

No you don't. You're notified when the meds will be arriving and can arrange to be there. 

And Boots send my prescriptions so they WILL be posted through the door by our posties. I do not have to be in when they arrive.

Nelliegrace

We use Patient Access online to request our regular prescriptions from the GP surgery, and collect them from our nominated chemist a couple of days later. They are very organised and efficient, especially when they are allowed to get on with their job. The pharmacist went to a lot of trouble to get a prescription and an alternative medicine for DH when he could not get the usual one anywhere. There are some problems with supply. 

We got out of the habit of waiting at the chemists for one off prescriptions during the Covid restrictions. It was rather bleak waiting in the street in winter when you were ill. Much better to drop off the prescription and telephone later to see if it is ready for collection. 

I see the sense in the blunt notices at Tesco Pharmacy. I don’t want my medicines dispensed by someone who is too harassed and upset to concentrate, that is how mistakes get made. 

There are free prescriptions in England for people with certain illnesses. Cancer medicines were added to the list later after some discussion about which cancers were included even if you were all on the same medicines, and there were some difficulties in getting the forms signed by consultants who disagreed, yet you could have free prescriptions if you needed medicines for the side effects of the cancer drugs. 

JetpackVelociraptor

There has been a huge shift in the way people behave in shops and other customer service interactions. As customers you tend to only notice the knock-on effects this has on your shopping experience. More shops have signs up saying they won't tolerate abuse, sales assistances may be less tolerant or more apt to take offence. But the truth is that since covid some people react way over the top when they perceive that they are in some way being told what to do, even if it's perfectly reasonable.

I don't see anything wrong with a pharmacy continuing to maintain safety procedures like masks and hand cleansing. It's a pharmacy, so it's entirely plausible that they have regular contact with people who would still be at risk from catching covid or other diseases such as people who are immune-compromised. They may have decided to prioritise the safety of those customers over the comfort of their other, less vulnerable customers. Maybe they have found themselves a profitable niche as a result of being somewhere those customers feel safe to shop. Or maybe one of the staff or owners is actually immune compromised and wants to be safe at work.

My shop has never allowed pets inside, children jumping on things, people to block the exits with their cars, people to take things away without paying for them "just to try", or people to walk around barefoot inside. I honestly don't know why anyone would want to do any of those things here, but I can tell you that in the 4 years during and since covid I've had more people be rude, argumentative or downright abusive over not being allowed to do these things than we had in the previous 10+ years prior. I'm not even including the terrible way people behaved during covid when we had to implement all the covid safety measures. It's like some now feel that any kind of instruction given to them inside a retail environment is an infringement on their civil liberties or something. I don't have any signs up, but I'm comfortable telling people to leave if I have to. I wouldn't necessarily expect staff to feel comfortable doing the same.