Why do NHS prescriptions take so long to dispense?
- Thread starter Diddums
- Start date
Oh I can't remember that far back! Was more a training problem for me really. Aint like you often discharge people straight from ICU! Beside it's a nursing thing getting them. When I was training though the F+G grades (going back there a bit) would make sure you got them all ordered well in advance so they were on the ward all ready. You'd get the odd unexpected discharge of a weekend morning on rounds and you'd still see them there in the afternoon. But then if you've got one pharmacist on call for the whole hospital then what do you expect.
Yes Este, they just go and pick up the box from the shelf.
They don't have any education in things like negative interactions between different medications, the side affects of the medications, the appropriate doses for different ages, their contents so that they can tell if you've got an allergy that it might cause an issue.
except they have no control over any of that stuff, they cant alter the medication, or the dose.
they can tell you "i think theres something wrong we need to contact the doctor" but they cant go "ahhh the stuff the doctor prescribed you is rubbish here have this instead".
Deleted member 651465
Deleted member 651465
You are in a hospital. If someone on a ward needs a non-standard item quickly where do you think they get it from? Who do you think ensures the wards have the requisite stock?
You may see incompetence - they may see an emergency in a department you aren't even aware exists, the manager may see staffing levels reduced as a result of pay freezes and budget reductions, someone may be off sick, they may not give a stuff, they may be incompetent.
How can we know unless we know the particulars of that hospital at this time.
If you think 45 mins is a long wait try getting TTOs for a ward ...
Most, if not all wards are now switching to dispensing machines for the medical staff. Similar to the type at the gym, they also have these vending machines outside the pharmacy, where patients can scan a valid prescription to get their medication. A known competent person will have access to the real goodies (controlled drugs) inside each machine too
To agree with your point though.. I can only speak for our trust but most major general hospitals aren't geared up to deal with the general public due to demand. They're used to working in a busy lab with robots that sort and box the meds. When Ethel turns up with her green slip, it's more of an inconvenience than a service and usually means they have to manually dispense.
Community hospitals on the other hand are much less busy and don't have this issue.
seems a bit quick for the 2 person check though.
6 hours...
Though last time I was told I could go and then come back for the medication later.
Well since you specified NHS prescriptions...
What is your experience with non-NHS prescriptions?
I have less issue with waiting for medicines than waiting 48h if I want a repeat prescription... just to get the prescription which has to be made in person to the receptionist then picked up in person from same reception at my GP.
On the other hand if I ask to see a doctor I get a script that same day and if its for previous medication it takes all of 5 mins to check and print it off.
Decisions, decisions. Waste 5 mins of a doctors time or wait two days and visit the GP twice, wasting a very much larger amount of my time.
What is your experience with non-NHS prescriptions?
I have less issue with waiting for medicines than waiting 48h if I want a repeat prescription... just to get the prescription which has to be made in person to the receptionist then picked up in person from same reception at my GP.
On the other hand if I ask to see a doctor I get a script that same day and if its for previous medication it takes all of 5 mins to check and print it off.
Decisions, decisions. Waste 5 mins of a doctors time or wait two days and visit the GP twice, wasting a very much larger amount of my time.
except you arnt wasting 5 minutes of a GPS time you're wasting 1 time slot.
A time slot then.
Comparison still stands as it's considerably less convenient to get a repeat than it is to get an appointment.
yes i know but it means 1 less patient seen.
Soldato
- Joined
- 21 Sep 2008
- Posts
- 4,421
- Location
- somewhere out there!
9 hours!
Doctor declares patient A can go home at 09:05 actually left at 18:00 in that particular instance TTO`s were the only thing they required.
Yes Este, they just go and pick up the box from the shelf.
They don't have any education in things like negative interactions between different medications, the side affects of the medications, the appropriate doses for different ages, their contents so that they can tell if you've got an allergy that it might cause an issue.
Umm you do realise all that info you mentioned is determined well before any medication even comes close to being put on shelves of any chemists. You made it sound as if the guy at the till does some in depth research to identify allergens or whatever when all hes doing is reading a leaflet. You probably get the leaflet in your box of pills anyway.
Last edited:
You are talking some rubbish this week.
They have to check that individually for each patient on receipt of the prescription. How the hell would they know who was having what combination of drugs before they put them on the shelves.
The pharmacist, who dispenses, has a legal obligation enshrined in several laws to ensure they make those checks as they are professionally and legally accountable and responsible for any medication they personally give out.
So yes the person will have to examine any interactions, dosages, frequencies, consider renal and hepatic impairment etc, etc etc before handing over the medication. That is enshrined in legislation.
That's just not the case at all. Why do you think medication is dispensed by pharmacists with years of training and not simply taken from the shelf and handed over by shop assistants? They have a thorough understanding of how drugs work, possible interactions and side effects. I've had several occasions where the pharmacist has asked to have a quick word before handing me new medications to make me aware of one thing or another. If you use the same pharmacy for all your prescriptions they will pull up your list of medications and look for possible contradictions on your medication, likewise if you have medication that simply doesn't suit you for one reason or another they can suggest alternatives that you may want to discuss with your GP.
Last edited:
A 48 hr wait is simply a delay to make managing expectations reasonable. It's often likely it can be quicker, but otherwise people only ring up or go to surgery when they realise they are completely out of medications. It's not the actual time taken for the checks it's giving a chance for the checks to happen outside of usual clinics otherwise admin teams would constantly interrupt a doctor in a clinic for such things and they get even further behind. Your doctor will likely sign several hundred scripts a day and often they will do this in the evening when everyone else has gone home or during their lunch. Almost certainly there is an option to order your prescriptions online as all the clinical systems have that as an option. Many will also be able to issue electronically to a nominated pharmacy so you just have to get your arse in gear and order online with an app and go to a pharmacy 2 days later, it really isn't that inconvenient
OK before you use me as an outlet to exhibit your know-it-all crap, where did I ever say they don't do checks?
All I said was the 4 things Warewolf mentioned [deadly cocktails, max dosage, side effects, allergens] are referenced in a leaflet.
I didn't say they don't check those against each patient, I just said that information is in a leaflet lol. Yet your whole post is centred around assuming I said they don't do those checks, when I said nothing of the sort.
Last edited: