NHS prescriptions by post

[fossyant]

I have mine delivered. Got sick of all the visits/phone calls to the pharmacy when they didn't have it in despite ordering weeks in advance. I just click on what I need, then it's tracked as to where it's upto, and bingo, turns up at the door. Our local pharmacy is rubbish, just terribly disorganised.

 

[fossyant]

I like to support local businesses and would always use my local pharmacy. They know me, my prescriptions and my routine meaning every four weeks on a Thursday my meds are ready to collect without any action on my part. Hard to beat that for service.

Constant issues with our pharmacy - not just me, but MrsF and son. His is more urgent being stuff like insulin !

 

[Bonefish Blues]

And Pharmacies are more than just prescriptions. They are qualified in the diagnosis and treatment of many minor ailments that mean you don’t have to wait to try and get an appointment at the GP.

Many are signed up to the Community Pharmacy Consultation Service for the above.

https://psnc.org.uk/national-pharma...es/community-pharmacist-consultation-service/

If their diagnosis is out of their skill set they have the ability to get a patient referred same day into the patient’s GP.
Pharmacy2U don’t offer that .

They don't, you're right.

I started using P2U during the pandemic for reasons many will understand, and haven't gone back to in person collection, for which my pharmacy was also somewhat hit-and-miss on occasion. P2U's a bit rubbish too, on occasion, but mostly Roy the Post brings my meds to me.

 

[fossyant]

Our pharmacy is actually open late and on Sundays, which is rare. When you are working for a living, the local pharmacy is usually shut by the time you get home.

 

[byegad]

My local pharmacy deliver both my* and Lady Byegad's^ prescriptions for free. I like using them, because they're local and if you don't use them, you lose them.

THe big firms that advertise are in direct competition with local pharmacies and could well affect them the way traditional corner shops were affected by Supermarkets, closing them down! You can't go to the big postal firms for a tube of antiseptic cream etc.

* My deliveries will hopefully not be necessary once I get my knee replaced.
^Lady Byegad gets hers following her Brain Abscess treatment and that will be permanent.

 

[Bonefish Blues]

My local pharmacy deliver both my* and Lady Byegad's^ prescriptions for free. I like using them, because they're local and if you don't use them, you lose them.

THe big firms that advertise are in direct competition with local pharmacies and could well affect them the way traditional corner shops were affected by Supermarkets, closing them down! You can't go to the big postal firms for a tube of antiseptic cream etc.

* My deliveries will hopefully not be necessary once I get my knee replaced.
^Lady Byegad gets hers following her Brain Abscess treatment and that will be permanent.

You can actually. P2U is always punting little 'add-ons' like that when I place my order.

Another thing that I managed to do via P2U the other day is get some prescription ointment OK'd from my doctor without having to go to my doctor for a consultation - it's something I've had before on an occasional basis before when bits of me decide to decompose, so I guess, sensible man that he is, he looked at the prescription and OK'd it without a faff.

 

[DRHysted]

I’d have probably gone the way of postal prescriptions if I’d stayed with the first pharmacy my surgery registered me with. They were hopeless, always made me wait whilst they made my order (boxed inhaler & ready boxed tablets), I had to check the bag, as they easily missed items.
I changed to a small “village” pharmacy that’s on my way home from work, and it’s completely different. I now get a text when my orders ready, they keep reminding me that I should have a flu vaccine (and other items).
So at present I wouldn’t get my medication via the post.

 

[ebikeerwidnes]

If you are having problems with your local pharmacy then I would suggest changing to another one in the area
if there is one but there normally is in built up areas
I did have problem with one place I used many years ago - had to check everything before I left - but not had a problem with any since

 

[LCpl Boiled Egg]

I'd rather support my local independent pharmacy. Their service is great and they kept me alive in lockdown. Agree with the comments upthread about P2U being like Amazon, which is another reason to avoid them.

 

[KnittyNorah]

The pharmacy associated with my Dr surgery is hopeless, very slow and couldn't organise a delivery to me within 48 hours even though I had to start the meds within 24 hrs or less. So I told the surgery staff that I'd fix something else up about my prescription and phone them ASAP. This was at 11am.

I phoned a pharmacy which I'd used before as I pass it conveniently - it's virtually on the way out of the bus station, and they'd always been pleasant, helpful and reasonably priced whenever I popped in for odd things, eg hayfever meds. Or glycerine for preserving leaves and flowers. Yes they had actual glycerine BP - and didn't try to fob me off with ruddy blackcurrant cough medicine like the numpty in Boots did! AND we had an interesting chat about what I used it for (yes, I know they were probably checking I wasn't about to make nitroglycerine!).
I asked about using them as my nominated pharmacy, explained I'd been prescribed something I needed to start ASAP and needed to be delivered. 'No problem!' they said.

At 3.30pm the meds were in my hand, having been delivered to my door.

My prescriptions are FOC due to my age - and the delivery was free, too.
When I didn't get a repeat prescription issued on time, the pharmacy chased this up on my behalf before I'd even noticed, and had the stuff in my hand on the date it should've been there if the repeat had been issued on time. When I changed my dosage after discussion with my GP, I phoned the pharmacy up and asked them to please dispense what made the most sense for ease of taking the dosage agreed upon; the lass I spoke to said, 'hold on, I think the pharmacist is just about to phone you about it, oh here he is ...' and we had a brief chat about the best way to titrate the dosage given that the tablets couldn't be split, and came to a satisfactory conclusion.

Why would I even WANT to change to some anonymous postal service? I'd far rather be able to speak directly to Salma, Hussein or Jill, AND get good advice from them in person. I don't take them much business (fingers crossed for my basic good health to continue), but I do recommend them to others and pop in there for bits'n'pieces. I'll probably buy a BP monitor from them soon, too, as my old one only saves a few previous readings and I'd like to be able to compare lots of previous ones and get it to draw me a graph.

 

[oldwheels]

I only have one pharmacy available in a small town but they are very good and have never given me any problems unless they have difficulty getting stuff in which is not their fault if the wholesaler they use is out of stock.

 

[fossyant]

The problem with our local pharmacies is there is only one that's open after 5pm. No use to us that are working. The one that's open late, is unfortuntely oversubscribed with customers. I had too many supply issues, resulting in many calls each month. We have the same with my son's insulin and libre sensors (T1).

 

[KnittyNorah]

The problem with our local pharmacies is there is only one that's open after 5pm. No use to us that are working. The one that's open late, is unfortuntely oversubscribed with customers. I had too many supply issues, resulting in many calls each month. We have the same with my son's insulin and libre sensors (T1).

The pharmacy I use offers free home drop-off to everyone and they have two delivery runs - one in the afternoon, the other in the evening and specifically for people who are out during the day. Once when I needed something that arrived with them a bit too late to come out on the afternoon delivery, the driver phoned me to make sure I'd be in as he said he'd be able to drop it off at 5pm 'but that's usually a bit too early for people who need an evening delivery'.
The prescription goes to them directly from the GP so it doesn't need to be 'open' for prescription purposes.