Text to Speech apps

marcia_

ripplyuk said:

@Savvy_Sue What is a patient participation group? Is it linked to the GP? 

I could order these repeats by post but the nearest postbox is a few miles away and isn’t collected every day. I can’t order in advance because the practice doesn’t allow that. I have to wait until the day after the meds run out, which I think is daft but those are the rules. 

 That is bizarre. My pharmacy takes 2 to 4 days to get all my medications when they have to order them in. Requesting after you run out will leave you a few days without medication 

Savvy_Sue

marcia_ said:

ripplyuk said:

I could order these repeats by post but the nearest postbox is a few miles away and isn’t collected every day. I can’t order in advance because the practice doesn’t allow that. I have to wait until the day after the meds run out, which I think is daft but those are the rules. 

 That is bizarre. My pharmacy takes 2 to 4 days to get all my medications when they have to order them in. Requesting after you run out will leave you a few days without medication 

It's not just bizarre, it's downright dangerous. 2 - 4 days? We're advised to order 10 days in advance! 

@ripplyuk is there a support group for any of your problems? just by googling "neurology uk support group" a few came up, I'm wondering if one of them might be able to advocate for you. 

Or PALS: https://www.nhs.uk/nhs-services/hospitals/what-is-pals-patient-advice-and-liaison-service/ - I've used them for hospital problems but it seems you can use them for complaints about GPs as well. 

ripplyuk

@Savvy_Sue I’ll look into support groups and try to find an advocate. The only thing is that I’m wary about making a complaint because it’s a very rural area and this is the only GP available. I’m scared they might be even more difficult if I make a fuss. 

Running out of meds for a few days each month is a problem but I cope with that by reducing the dosages beforehand. It’s not ideal but probably better than sudden withdrawal. I did manage to finally speak to the GP this morning (after a lengthy battle with the receptionist!) but as soon as I mentioned the issue she said ‘Oh, admin deals with that’ and immediately transferred me to the receptionist 🙄. I’ll try writing another letter. 

Savvy_Sue

In my experience, a complaint to PALS hasn't caused any problems, but I can see that it would be concerning. 

However, when you write that letter, I'd set out what you have been told when trying to get the prescriptions you need, which leads to you being unable to access a new prescription before you've run out of what you need. If that is what the receptionists are telling you, then you need a solution to that, and if that's the system they want to operate then you need a reasonable adjustment!