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Prescription changes and the law?

D

DiabeticSkater

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Up Norf
I have had my prescriptions altered over the past few months ie the amount of items. this was done without anyone asking me. Does anyone know if this is legal?
I have spoken with the GP about this and all I got was jibba jabba. man, i love the NHS....NOT
 
Dont know about the legality but its bad practice and shows extraordinary arrogance and a lack of courtesy to you as a patient. I am led to believe(by my nurses that they shouldnt be restricting test strips)

For that reason alone I reckon you have some recourse to action
 
If patients behaved like Healthcare professionals, we'd be fined and thrown off their lists
 
what change has been made to your prescription?
The number of tablets, blood-glucose test strips? Or something else!


I read somewhere recently that the number of months-worth of pill, or whatever, may be reduced. I think the hope is that it will lead to less waste, and so reduce waste. For people who do take all the pills prescribed it'll be a slight pain. But I have thrown away pills before now, some of which wouldn't have been chucked in the bin if I'd been prescribed less pills in the first place.
I usually have 2 month's supply of pills on my repeat slip, so I hope that isn't getting changed!
 
Got to agree with lilibet it is very rude to just change your prescription without consulting or notifying you. I get 1 months supply of my medication (except insulinof which i get 3 months supply :? ). The reason i was given is i've only been diabetic 12 months (6 months wrongly diagnosed as type 2) and that my medication may change at short notice.

Hazey
 
Hi Hazey,

I think, as SilverAndEbony said, it depends on exactly what they have changed. If they have reduced the amount so that you have to apply more often for a repeat, then they are entitled to do that in order to cut down on potential waste. But it would still be standard practice to notify you. The fact that they haven't just emphasises what an arrogant git your GP is, as he has proved so often in the past.

When it comes to removing a prescription, it depends on whether it is a medicine or something ancillary. If they have removed a medication without advising you why then the practice can, and should, be reported to the General Medical Council for mal-practice. If they have removed something that you could obtain for yourself over the counter, like test strips, lancets, sharps bin, etc then this is not a breach of any rules but is very poor practice.
 
Apidra was reduced.
Lantus doubled.
test strips reduced from 250 to 200.
Glucogels reduced to three per month. I havent exercised since.
And gave me enough Ranitidine to last 3 months. only thing which didnt change was the domperidone.
Also sent me a letter asking me to go in for a glucose tollerance test. *** I've been type 1 for 30 years. my C-pep count is zero.
I think I need to change to a different surgerey. That place only seems to be accomodating if you have a heroin addiction like so many do round these parts.
:cry: :evil:
 
Apologies DS, I directed my reply above to Hazey not realising that the original post had come from you! Moral - first get brain in gear - then reply!
 
The other changes are bad enough but adjusting your insulin prescription without telling you?! ***
next, changing you to a cheaper insulin without notice?!

I've had it queried why I'm not ordering insulin when I ask for my repeat, but no-one's ever interfered with the amount prescribed. I've been wondering whether the bean counters would dare (or how long it'd be before they started) to impose doses or switch folks to cheaper insulins. Let's just hope this was a well-intentioned error.

I've also been asked why I haven't had a glucose tolerance test "recently" (= ever) but didn't get as far as a written invitation. I just thought it demonstrated how little the nurse knew, and she dropped the idea when I challenged it.

You should certainly complain to the practice manager, if no joy there complain to the PCT, and/or get your diabetes consultant to write them a sniffy letter.
 
Probably legal, but clueless and arrogant.

I've had medications changed but only after being informed in writing and being given the opportunity for consultation.

The did pull a stunt for a while where they wouldn't renew your prescription until it was "due" which not only messed with the patients who were unable to get to the pharmacy more than once a week but severly ****** off the pharmacists who were getting three separate prescriptions to pick over three days instead of getting all the meds for one patient in one hit. Then if you ordered too early they would just bin it so you never knew what you had on order and what not.They seem to have stopped this now.
 
HI,
My prescription issues were changed a couple of months ago too. I only get prescribed 1 month's tablets at a time now, which would have been reasonably ok, just a bit inconvenient. :(
I originally thought it was only me, but the chemist said it was the same for eveyone now. :roll:
Because I am on several medications, for several seperate conditions, I seem to be going to the chemist's much more often, and all my prescriptions are all out of synch. The chemist appears more stressed too :!:
The other major down side to this, especially as I live alone is, if I'm not feeling well enough to go out I can run perilously close to running out of tablets.
The whole business is getting more awkward, as I can leave a repeat prescription at either the doctor's or the chemist's (at least 24 hours/3 or 4 days respectively) in advance in order to get it processed. :roll:
All of these changes may be good for "the health system", but as the "end user" these changes are VERY inconvenient. :!:
When you are ill you need things to be as straightforward as possible. They aren't :!:
I am barely managing to cope as it is. What will happen if/when my health worsens :?:
Something else to worry about :!:
All of this means I'm having to venture out (when I normally wouldn't) in all weathers at MUCH greater risk to my health. Perhaps that is the REAL reasion for this change. :?: They're trying to kill some of us off to clear the system. :!:
IF the next lot of proposed changes gets approved, we will each be responsible for (financially managing) our own health care. What happens then, if you spend your allowance and still have treatment/illnesses to fund. :?:
Being ill is becoming a business not a condition. :!:
 
Sugarbabe, ask your pharmacist if they can deliver your meds to your house or to a nominated neighbour. Many pharmacies do this now.

Also there's a system my GP sent me details of, where you can order your repeat meds on the web, this company gets the prescription and posts the items to you - no good for insulin obviously but may at least help reduce trips to the pharmacy for tablets.

I sympathise with your frustration, the pharmacy I used to use kept requesting the wrong items. It'd take 2 weeks of toing and froing then end up with me having to go to the surgery and get nagged for "leaving my request til the last minute"! Or they'd order me insulin I didn't need and store it under the counter instead of in the fridge. Considering the system was supposed to make life easier it had a strange effect on my blood pressure!
 
Thanks LittleSue,
I'll look into that. It seems a good idea. I can't be the only person who lives alone and can't always get out to the chemist can I?
I tried contacting my GP today, but couldn't get past the "Berlin Wall", sorry I meant receptionist! All I wanted to know was, had A&E contacted my GP re: a cardiology appointment after my Ambulance ride in there last week!
I ended up saying, "Well I'll wait and see if anyone bothers to contact me then!". [No one will].
If there were awards for Awkwardness she'd be a winner!!! I don't think she wants anyone to get as far as the doctor, so she just upsets them.. I'm always left feeling I've disturbed her having a nap when I ring...
I HATE being ill, and all these health "professionals" just make the whole experience worse. When I worked in the N.H.S. the most important person was the patient, and they always came first. My goodness it has all changed...
 
The receptionists at my doctors are very unhelpful too. Why do they work in customer service if they appear to hate contact with people? I really don't understand it. Anyway, on topic, the Boots near me have a service where you can drop of the repeat prescription form there, you pick the prescrition a few days later, you don't need to go to the doctor to get a prescription.
 
My brother uses that service, he has a repeat prescription for epilepsy drugs. At the moment he's taking 6 every day, so if he runs out he's in trouble!
 
Hi 999sugarbabe. I like your sense of humour and I shall enjoy reading your postings.You obviously have the same doctor's surgery as me........I recognise that receptionist. :wink: I still have a flat forehead from my last encounter with our local receptionist. The brick wall outside the surgery still has a dent to prove it.
 
I get my repeats without going anywhere near the GPs surgery. I just contact the pharmacy - it's in my local supermarket so it's open 12 hours a day weekdays - tell them what I need, then come back to pick my pill up when it's ready. I usually request while I'm doing the weekly shop and when I've got 2 weeks supply left . Then pick them up the next weekend. That way, if there's a problem there's time to sort it out. The pharmacy is very good. Last time my request for Glucophage SR morphed into standard metformin. I contacted the surgery and then the pharmacy and it was sorted out within a day.

I know electronic prescribing is coming, and has arrived in some places. Your GP effectively 'signs off' 6 or however long supply of medications. You can go into the pharmacy and get a batch as agreed intervals. for example, the GP signs to say you can have 6 months supply of metformin dispensed in 3 batches, 2 months apart. So you don't get 6 months supply at once, but you don't need to request a repeat from the GP for 6 months. Just go to the pharmacy every 2 months.

My GPs website says there's a repeat request feature coming to the website, so presumably I can click to request a repeat then pick it up at the pharmacy. Good if you have access to the internet. Our local pharmacys also deliver if that's been arranged.
 
Silver and Ebony
Your doctor has a website :!: I sometimes wonder if mine has heard of Penicillin :!: :wink:
One of the receptionists is a part-time Nazi interrogator :!: :twisted: I've seen her flying to work on her broomstick :lol:
 
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