"Pharmacy & Repeat Prescription Service"

Extremely poor treatment and service provision from the Pharmacy we use, not helped by the Medical Centre's repeat prescription process.

I have had a repeat prescription for an item of medication for four years now (since 2017) which the pharmacy initially managed. This went relatively smoothly for the first year, then gradually went down hill to reach a current low point. 

The pharmacy informed me a few months ago they are  unable to manage my prescription as they cannot request it at the correct time, and are apparently only able to order it from the GP far earlier than it is due, leading the GP to reject the request. When queried they said they do not to have any process for this to be re-requested, and (unhelpfully) do not tell the patient when this happens.

I now manage the prescription myself and request from the GP within the time frames  specified (2-3 days before it is due), and for collection from the pharmacy. However, I still cannot obtain my medication on time. I now spend at least 2 hours every month going between the pharmacy and the GP practice, with at least three trips to the pharmacy:

1. Told prescription not there; 

2. Return as after checking with GP it transpires prescription is with pharmacy where I am forced into the most unpleasant exchange with from my experience an exceptionally rude pharmacist (or one of the staff members who will most likely tell me either no prescription has been received or it has already been dispensed);

3. Return to eventually collect prescription. 

To make matters worse, today, after requesting prescription from GP last week, I was expecting to be able to collect from the pharmacy. Unfortunately, whilst the prescription had arrived at the pharmacy it had not been processed. After explaining I had ran out of medication and therefore required it today, I was told they had none of the items in stock (4 separate medications - none of them particularly unusual items), and they now require 24-48 hrs to order in items after receiving the prescription.

This therefore means it is near impossible to get a repeat prescription issued by my Medical Centre and dispensed by the pharmacy on time; the Medical Centre only let you request the prescription 2-3 days before it is due, they then  have a 48 hour turnaround time for getting prescription signed and issued, then the pharmacy require time to order medicines.

As the pharmacy is directly opposite the medical centre, I'm assuming the vast majority of prescriptions from the medical centre go to this pharmacy. Either I am the only one this is happening to and am therefore feel I am in some way being discriminated against by this pharmacy, or these issues are far more widespread.

These issues are not helped by the extremely poor attitude of the Pharmacy Manager who has offered no explanation (until pressed on several occasions), no help (refused to address the issue or take action to remedy), no apology, and, despite clear issues with the management of repeat prescriptions, continues to take on new ones. To be fair, I was told bluntly at the time they advised they were no longer able to manage my prescription that this 'isn't a service [they are] obliged to provide', so I suppose that does entitle them to discriminate and cherry pick which prescriptions they manage!

I believed central to the role of community pharmacists was supporting people to be able to take their medication correctly and as prescribed. The only experience I have had with this pharmacy has been extremely unpleasant, stressful, time consuming, unhelpful. 

Given the combined impact of the processes of the pharmacy and the Medical Centre is obstructive to obtaining medications through the repeat prescribing process, perhaps they could work together better than they appear to be, and at least communicate with their patients better on such matters.

Is there a body I can forward this on to who would be able to look into this, or does this need to be dealt with separately by each of the parties involved? Given my past experience of the pharmacy Manager in particular, I have absolutely no faith that this would be looked into and examined in the appropriate manner.

Whilst we are all hugely grateful for the services pharmacists, GPs and everyone in the NHS provides and has continued to do so throughout the current pandemic, and are acutely aware of the pressures they face, it is testament to how affected and disappointed I have been by this situation that I am in fact reluctantly writing this.