"Hospital Pharmacies"

My father went for an appointment and was seen very promptly by the nurse to have blood pressure and weight checked, then by the consultant soon after. We were finished within an hour and very satisfied with their service.

But we had been given a prescription (electronic, so could not see anything) and waited something like TWO HOURS for the hospital pharmacy to dispense it.

It seems there is some kind of screening process that has to happen between the medical staff prescribing and the pharmacy dispensing and the screening does not always happen promptly.

The gentleman behind the counter was doing his best to keep me informed, but I felt that there was clearly something very wrong behind the scenes. From what he said, it also seems to be a very regular occurrence. Certainly, I've waited more than an hour for a prescription after previous appointments.

After the first hour, I asked if the prescription could instead be sent to my local pharmacy and they said that was not possible -- even though the pharmacy is operated by Lloyds and they have a branch near us.

That is where the problem lies. It would not matter that it takes two hours behind the scenes if the patient did not have to wait while it happened. I feel that patients need to be given a choice of pharmacy, with their prescriptions available to collect the following day, not have to wait hours and hours at the hospital pharmacy.