"Pharmacy team giving conflicting information"

My experience with the pharmacy team at this GP practice has been extremely frustrating and disappointing. They seem to be consistently unhelpful, give conflicting information, and I feel they are often unwilling to be transparent about what’s really happening with prescriptions.

For example, I’ve had repeat prescriptions rejected even when they were clearly approved by my doctor to be requested at a certain correct time. On one occasion, I was told by a GP to submit my request, only for the pharmacy team to reject it without explanation. When I called to ask why, I was told different things by different pharmacists — one saying it was too early, another saying the doctor still needs to approve it, and another saying it wasn’t sent through yet. None of them ever seem to agree, and it left me stuck in the middle.

This is especially worrying if you rely on essential medication, because delays or sudden gaps can lead to withdrawal symptoms or worsening health. Despite raising concerns several times, nothing seems to change. I have found the pharmacy team to often be rude, dismissive, and unwilling to listen, which makes an already stressful situation worse.

I’ve also been given false assurances that my prescription would be ready by a certain day, only to go to my nominated pharmacy and be told it was never sent over. It’s happened too many times to be a one-off mistake.

To be fair, I understand NHS staff are under pressure and may be overworked — but that doesn’t excuse poor communication or what I believe to be dishonesty. I would much rather be told the truth than be given the run-around.

I believe I’m not the only person who’s had these issues, and it’s a shame because it makes what could be a good surgery very unreliable when it comes to pharmacy support.