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"I am now on my fourth day without the medication"

About: Leeds and York Partnership NHS Foundation Trust / Adult mental health

(as the patient),

After a number of requests and the intervention of an ex mental health worker, I have had help recently.

For physical reasons I can only take some of my medication in a format which I can swallow. Initially, I was given the wrong format, but this was corrected. The most recent delivery of medication was wrong again. As it was the weekend, I was asked if I could manage until Monday. It seems hospital pharmacies take the weekends off. I did try but can only regurgitate the format.

I may have misunderstood, but I expected the correct formulation on the Monday. Late in the day I discovered I had been expected to collect it myself. Had I understood this at the weekend I would have explained that I did not think it appropriate that I should pay around £10 in taxi fares for another's mistake. I already pay tax, NI and prescription charges.

I am now on my fourth day without the medication. This is not good for my health, and I am suffering intense "discontinuation symptoms" which is the manufacturer's euphemism for withdrawal symptoms. Believe me, I know from hard experience that it is actually easier to give up smoking. I am now well beyond managing to travel.

I would like to know what the concept Duty of Care means to the Trust.

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Responses

Response from Communications Department, Leeds and York NHS Partnership NHS Foundation Trust 11 years ago
Communications Department
Leeds and York NHS Partnership NHS Foundation Trust
Submitted on 15/02/2013 at 16:45
Published on Care Opinion at 16:49


Dear Lostielost

I am very sorry to hear the difficulties you have experienced trying to arrange for appropriate medication. You experience is something that we’d like to look into in some detail as it appears the arrangements for you to receive medication are not clear and you seem to have little confidence in them.

You are right that it is not advisable to stop medication without suitable planning and so, with this in mind, we need to sort this out before the weekend.

Could I ask that you contact our PALS (Patient Advocacy and Liaison Service) on 0800 0525 790. They are available Monday - Friday (9am-5pm). They will be able to arrange for someone to get in touch about your medication and also, if you would agree, take some further information from you so that we look into your experience in more detail and provide you with a more satisfactory response.

Yours sincerley

Elaine Weston

chief pharmacist

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