How long should you be expected to wait for a prescription?

[Angel gasbag]

Hello Everyone

I had a prescription 2 weeks ago issued of course by my GP

We have gone into our local chemist every day but are still waiting for the item to be delivered to them

They have now taken my phone number so they can contact me when they arrive

They are Zinc Paste and Ichtammol bandages and they are telling me that they are a specialist item

Thats all well and good but its not helping me is it?

In the meantime I am suffering when this medication could be making all the difference to me

How long would you wait or how long is reasonable ?

Can I complain to anyone if so who

Hopefully someone can help

Thanks

Angel xx

[Pharmanaut]

Hello Everyone

I had a prescription 2 weeks ago issued of course by my GP

We have gone into our local chemist every day but are still waiting for the item to be delivered to them

They have now taken my phone number so they can contact me when they arrive

They are Zinc Paste and Ichtammol bandages and they are telling me that they are a specialist item

Thats all well and good but its not helping me is it?

In the meantime I am suffering when this medication could be making all the difference to me

How long would you wait or how long is reasonable ?

Can I complain to anyone if so who

Hopefully someone can help

Thanks

Angel xx

I don't know the exact circumstances of this particular product.
However, you will be surprised how many things are in short supply.
A lot of them are basic items that have been around for years.
One reason for this is that a lot of the makers have dropped them due to profitability.
Also a lot of the 'old time' suppliers have been bought up by larger ones.
It follows that if the only manufacturer runs out, for example a batch fails quality tests, we are in trouble very quickly.
Most of the time these things are not newsworthy.

Someone reading this board will know more about the particular dressing that you are waiting for.

[dizzyb23]

I'm assuming Angel that you aren't in the pharmacy profession, the item you need is difficult to get when the supply chain is going ok but this is not the case in todays pharmacies. I have lost count of the amount of b***** time I spend in a week ringing suppliers and trying to find ways of getting items. All the normal jobs pile up as i'm glued to the phone.....and the stress this causes!!!!! I've even had problems getting disp Aspirin.....So, basically, you are going to be waiting about a week if the supplier can supply it and indefinately if there's a problem which there most certainly is with your item. It is NOT the fault of the Pharmacist or staff of your pharmacy. The next time you need it, get the GP to prescribe an alternative that is available or when this product does become ok to obtain, order a week earlier than the day you actually need it.......

[johnep]

This used to be Icthapaste from Smith and Nephew. Zinc and icthammol very unlikely to be found as a generic these days. Another brand is Icthaband. The pharmacy should have checked these. Icthammol is obtained by distillation of bitumous schists (oil bearing shale as found in Scotland). The oil is produced over millenia from fish trapped in the mud eons ago.
Not sure if the Scots shale oil industry still exists.
johnep

[DavidS]

We should perhaps mention that your pharmacy that is going to all this trouble, phonecalls, rechecking when you call in, will be getting paid perhaps £1.50 in total fees for supplying this item.

Not justifying a complaint, surely?

[Angel gasbag]

Thank you everyone for your reply

Since posting the chemist have called me and told me that my bandages have been " lost " so now they are trying to find out who has lost them and retrace them

Thanks Dizzy I will take that on board next time I need something that I need to order a week before - bit difficult though when you have no idea when you are going to be ill and need something ?

Never mind I will just continue to wait patiently

Thanks again

Angel xx

[Pharmanaut]

Thank you everyone for your reply

Since posting the chemist have called me and told me that my bandages have been " lost " so now they are trying to find out who has lost them and retrace them

Thanks Dizzy I will take that on board next time I need something that I need to order a week before - bit difficult though when you have no idea when you are going to be ill and need something ?

Never mind I will just continue to wait patiently

Thanks again

Angel xx

Thanks for posting the follow up.
Hope you get your supplies asap.

[roper]

And unfortunately, when trying to order a week early, some surgeries (or receptionists) will just say no!

[dizzyb23]

Thank you everyone for your reply

Since posting the chemist have called me and told me that my bandages have been " lost " so now they are trying to find out who has lost them and retrace them

Thanks Dizzy I will take that on board next time I need something that I need to order a week before - bit difficult though when you have no idea when you are going to be ill and need something ?

Never mind I will just continue to wait patiently

Thanks again

Angel xx

Sorry Angel if I sounded like I was having a go. It's so difficult to get your point across without possibly offending someone.......But as you can probably tell, finding supplies so we can do our job properly is one of my issues!!!!!!! You wouldn't believe what lengths we've all gone to so we can get prescription items.....There are so many examples but here is the one that sticks in my mind and still makes me erupt in anger:

When we had the bad snow a while back, I made my orders as usual and expected some delays. The prescription items I wanted were simple, everyday things that by rights, should have been on our shelves. The supplier(we are only allowed one) sent back a message on the computer...the dreaded MCS or Manufacturer can't supply. Fine, after screaming at the computer and trying to call the supplier several times and still being told the items are MCS, I started the lengthy process of getting the items from somewhere. Eventually, I found another branch that had a couple of packets. Bearing in mind the weather....I walked a couple of miles to the branch, picked the items up, trudged back and sorted the script out as best we could. I then dropped the partially finished script off at the elderly/disabled customers' house on my way home, who, by the way didn't even say thanks but moaned about the length of time this ordinary script was taking to be finished!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This is just one teeny example of what we do in any given day. I will now jump down off my soap box and go make a cup of tea. I really hope you get your items Angel. And Johnep makes a good point when he says that trying to organise your scripts early could be a problem with your GP as do you when you say you may not know what items you are going to need. If you know what you need in advance, make friends with the GP receptionist, explain the supply issues, pop to your lovely local Pharmacy and explain to the fab Pharmacist or the support staff in the dispensary what you have ordered etc. If I was dealing with you, i'd put in the order early whilst you were in the store so i'd be able to give you an expected date of delivery.......hope this helps ya......

[johnep]

So you order the expensive fridge non returnable item only to never get a script for it as pt forgotten and gone somewhere else. Happened to me with growth hormone.
johnep