"Problems with test results and prescriptions"

This story has been posted by Healthwatch Tameside on behalf of a member of the public. We have their details and will forward any comments to them. They said…

This lady looks after her dad who lives in Tameside. He has dementia and suffers from recurring water infections.

She took a sample to a G.P surgery in Dukinfield, on a Monday morning, knowing her dad needed antibiotics. She was told to ring on Tuesday morning for the results. She rang as requested, and could hear staff in the background saying ‘What’s she ringing up now for, she only brought it in yesterday? ’ She was told to ring again on Wednesday. She rang on Wednesday, but the results were still not back. She said she would ring on Friday.

On Friday, the results had still not arrived, so she should ring back at 5pm. They would have to go in and speak to the GP. She rang back. At 5. 50pm she was eventually told there was an infection and antibiotics were needed. The lady normally uses Newton Pharmacy but didn’t think they would be open again before Monday, so arranged for the prescription to be emailed to Asda.

She rang Asda on Saturday morning, but they had not received the prescription. She then rang Newton Pharmacy on the off-chance there was someone there. They were open during the morning, so were able to check online. They could see the prescription had been cancelled by the GP. They advised the lady to ring 111. She did this at 11am. Doctors turned up at 6. 40pm and gave the prescription for antibiotics.

This is not the first time the same thing had happened. She tries to avoid using services unnecessarily, but what should have been a straight-forward request, ended up with several services being used. She feels that money has been wasted.

She wonders whether her dad keeps getting water infections because it was not cleared up properly the first time.