When to contact the Police?

[admin]

I have been working about 30 miles away from 8.30am to 6.30pm in a pharmacy in a health centre. I work there Mon, Tues and Weds. The prescribing has been poor and I have done 12 intervention MUR’s there so far. Not one of them has reached the PCT pharmacist who goes there regularly, so I don’t know what happens to them.

The other Wednesday I got a prescription at about 4.30pm from a person and the prescription appeared to have been changed from four pethidine tablets to forty. The script was written in figures, not words and figures, so they had simply put a zero next to the number 4 and made it 40 with a ring round it.

The GP who has just written this is still in surgery, so I pop next door – after getting a mouthful from this individual who now admits what has been done, and who now wants to settle for the four tablets. I tell them I have no choice. They leg it out of the pharmacy.

The GP is still is in with a patient so I give the script to the receptionist and tell her what’s just happened. The receptionist comes back into the pharmacy about ten minutes later and says “The Doctor wants you to call the Police, as the prescription has been illegally changed”.

So I call the Police. This meant I had to make a statement and get the question at the end “of course you are prepared to go to court over this, yes?” to which I feel I have to say yes. I have been to court three times before for things like this, and worse, and it’s all been a waste of time.

I came back to this pharmacy on the following Monday and the GP had prescribed this person fifty pethidine tablets on the previous Friday – just two days after I they had altered a prescription and I’m asked to call the Police about this! A guy from the PCT was working there this particular Monday, and I explained what had happened, and what a waste of my time it had been calling the police etc when the Dr is just going to prescribe 50 tablets two days later anyway – what was the point? The point according to him was to “protect myself” and he said he’d have a word with the GP. He came back and told me this patient was now on co-codamol 30/500mg not pethidine 50mg, until they had a full review with him.

So yesterday this person comes in with another prescription, and is now being prescribed co-codamol 30/500mg AND pethidine 50mg tablets. My intervention has caused me hassle (police statements, possible court etc), the patient now comes in with a smug face and a few nasty gibes along with their mate, and this person is now getting two lots of prescription pain killers.

What’s the point? Where’s the back up? Why bother?

[Jeff]

What’s the point? Where’s the back up? Why bother?

You did remember to claim £70 reward from the ‘Pharmacy Reward Scheme’. Claim forms can be obtained by ringing 0800 068 6161. The Reward Scheme is explained in the Drug Tariff

[Pharmanaut]

What’s the point? Where’s the back up? Why bother?

What a day you have had.
I think you acted correctly as would be expected of any of us.
You do feel like you are the only one bothered sometimes.
Lets hope the patient has adequate pain control on the combination and doesn't take too many at once.

[dizzyb23]

I've had a similar problem with a patient changing their prescription for extra fentanyl patches. The prescriber couldn't care less.....Our Head Office wasn't interested either. The patient was an arrogant a******. They know they can get away with things these days.

At least you did everything you could to sort out the situation.

[Fleegle]

Fully empathise Elaine...

I went to court, along with my dispensing assistant as witnesses in Edinburgh years ago in a vain attempt to nail a guy who had changed a script in the same way. The case came up 18 months after the offence. We were both asked in court to point to the person we thought had been responsible. I got it right, as he was wearing a surgical collar and a suit that changed from silver to blue, depending how you looked at it. It was him ok. Problem was, my assistant wasn't ready for the pressure of the courtroom and pointed to the defence lawyer!

Case dismissed.

It just isn't bloody worth it. When was the last time a GP said 'Thanks for that..I'll call the police'...Answer?....NEVER.

Fleeg.

[Zoggite]

You did remember to claim £70 reward from the ‘Pharmacy Reward Scheme’. Claim forms can be obtained by ringing 0800 068 6161. The Reward Scheme is explained in the Drug Tariff

Don't waste even more time with that scheme, Admin: The £70 reward is only paid to the CONTRACTOR, not to an individual pharmacist, you're even less likely to see any of it if you're "just a locum"... All you get is the hassle and the paprwork to fill in!

[admin]

Don't waste even more time with that scheme, Admin: The £70 reward is only paid to the CONTRACTOR, not to an individual pharmacist, you're even less likely to see any of it if you're "just a locum"... All you get is the hassle and the paprwork to fill in!

I was going to put that Zogs but I haven't a drug tariff at home and was 99% sure it went to the contractors and not me. The point is really that this person is now on two lots of drugs, I have extra hassle at work, I got no back up and have been made to look a fool.

Having been told I had to do this to "protect" myself is rubbing salt in, as we all know who has the itchy trigger finger on us for whatever we do.

[Jeff]

From the August Drug Tariff
"The chemist will be eligible for a payment of £70, "
However with the ability to redefine words to mean whatever we want them to mean
"(b) The term contractor has the same meaning as chemist as defined in the Regulations. "

[wigworld]

Which PCT was it? You could find out which person is responsible for controlled drugs, and put it in writing to them. (For Hull PCT, it's Sue Butler, the medical director. I'm not sure about East Riding PCT).

[gstretch]

I wonder what the point is, my three 'incidents': one shooting in the shop, once threatened by two blokes with a baseball bat and an assistant with a syringe of blood held to her neck resulted in hours spent giving statements and no charges brought in any case...

difficult not to get dissillusioned, but you did the right thing Elaine.

Graham