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What’s your usual pharmacy like?

I do have a bit of insight into the inner workings of both Dispensaries and Pharmacies (including hospital ones) as my wife has made a living working in them the last twenty years. As such and knowing how little the people who work in them get paid allied to the high turnover of staff, I try my very best to be polite and patient.
 
I live in a pretentiously named ‘village’ with a large elderly population so lots of prescriptions flying about. I have to say the only pharmacy in the High St does a sterling job, my repeats are normally ready the next day and while there may be a short wait in the shop there are always 3 or 4 people working the counter. My only criticism is that they are expensive for some goods other than prescriptions but I don’t buy many of those - feel a bit guilty about that sometimes.
 
Superb.

my pharmacy knows when to renew my prescriptions and text me to let me know the code they need for collection from the dispenser on the outside wall.
No queuing at all.
I don’t have them delivered, it’s an extra cost to the NHS, and I am quite capable of getting them myself.
 
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Used to use the local Pharmacy but had problems with missing items so often had to make two trips before prescription was filled. Switched to an online chemist - Pharmacy2U and not had a problem since - highly recommended.
 
Our local pharmacy (Knights), aligned to, but 5 miles apart from my GP surgery is excellent.
Any repeat prescriptions are on time, and I get a text message when they are ready.

Typically, pharmacies attached to a GP surgery are busier, as patients who leave the GP, hang around in the pharmacy, amongst other customers, waiting. This can create issues as the patient expect it's already made up and available.
Now this might be due to the elderly age demographic of the area.

How do I know? My son is a pharmacist at such a practice.

Just like anywhere else, they have quiet and busy times. If there is only one pharmacist on duty (in his practice there's a few), then the pharmacy cannot operate if they go on a break.

If it's a standalone pharmacy, with one pharmacist, and they go for a break, they close the shop.

If it's somewhere like Boots, they shut that section and the rest of the shop continues.

I agree about franchises and chains having staffing issues and having to make profit. It's a very tight balance. A lot of them don't get it right and more pharmacies are shutting.

And when people can't get a GP appointment, they go to pharmacists. This drags on their ability to carry out prescription work. And there are hourly targets to hit for prescription completion.

Boots are terrible in our experience, both at prescriptions and working for them.
 
Tony Lockhart said:
First off, our pharmacy, part of the GP surgery, struggles with staff. Today there was only one working there, used to be four I think. It’s a good surgery, well regarded.

But. When I turn up to collect a prescription, if I see a queue of one is already there, I’m filled with dread. Today there were four people in front of me, and nobody behind the counter for about five minutes. When they returned, their hands were empty. More questions for the bloke at the window wanting his one prescription. Another two minutes and he was sorted, gone.
The next victims were sorted quickly, then my turn. I gave my name, the appropriate draw was opened, nope, not in there. A minute or so later after some searching somewhere round the back, it was handed to me.
The community nurse behind me said she’s in there twice a day, with a tight schedule for her visits. Going to the pharmacy makes her late for the rest of the day.

Everyone is always polite, but I almost went all Alan Ford today (sweary):

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Do you know the irony Tony? Beyond the “we are the n’th emergency service”, they are a highly lucrative business.
 
suzywong said:
Our pharmacy has an external delivery machine (bit like Amazon.....), available 24 /7. I get a text to say that the prescription is ready and an access code.
So the pharmacy provides excellent service.

Unfortunately I cannot say the same about the GP Surgery.
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We have a "health centre," a practice with four names partners and several other doctors that work different shifts. It took over a couple of thousand patients from a closed surgery about ten years ago. Sometimes there's only two doctors working. You can check, as the rota for the week is online.
None of the partners now work a full week, some only a couple of days. So your chance of seeing one who, twenty years ago was "your doctor," are pretty remote. I think they have far more patients than they can comfortably handle.
Locally, it's an ageing population and patients are expected to attempt to book an appointment on the internet, with "Ask My GP" ....as if you could.
They will accept a phone call as long as you phone at 8.00 am, even then you could still be sixth in the queue, but there may no "appointments left by the time your call is answered. "A woman with a strong American accent, " will keep updating you with your position in the queue, if you are still holding on.
But first, there's a long recorded preamble before you speak to one of the receptionists, which basically says, "If it's serious, dial 999."

A successful call or internet "hit" will get you a call back sometime during that day from a doctor and you'll get an "on-line" (phone line) "consultation." If they think they should actually see you, (whichever doctor that may be, who likely will not be familiar with your medical history,...(well it's all on the computer, innit?) you'll get an appointment. It's the same if you do it online.

A GP gets £163.65 per registered patient per year. This may be an incentive to have a large number of registered patients and treat them like cattle.
 
Only have one repeat prescription here and it gets delivered from Pharmacy2U every month by Royal Mail.

I'm over 60 so I don't have to pay. Quite easy really.
 
We have an indie pharmacy. I like the brothers who run it but recruitment and retention of other staff is obviously as much an issue there as it is anywhere else across the service sector and this often triggers a degree of unhelpful chaos in finding scripts etc. They’ve an electronic connection to our GP so I can see my GP and have meds waiting by the time I’ve walked the mile or so between the 2. Equally I can request a renewal via the NHS iOS app; see that it’s been processed and walk the 10 minutes to the pharmacy, confident my renewal will be there.

I am filled with trepidation whenever I call in and there is a queue but find that more people have trepidation about me given that I tend to instantly put on a mask when I see a queue and use a symbol/guide cane.

It is generally a much better experience at present than I’ve had elsewhere over the decades but I am painfully aware of in no way reflects the wider experience.
 
Ours is a very good independent and has a prescription ready within an hour. There is no waiting and they've now offering extra services. They've even come over to give my wife injections as she has difficulty in walking.
 
The GP’s dispensary is utterly terrible. I now have my prescription routed to Kamsons and thankfully my wife works there so it’s now pain free.
 
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