Disability Discrimination Act - rings any bells?

[philly]

What do you normally do when you receive a referral form from the surgery regarding a medicine compliance aid for a regular patient of your pharmacy? There are two options on this form:
- is covered by DDA but requires more help than is reasonable for us to provide
- is not covered by DDA but does require help with medication.

I know that DDA stands for Disability Discrimination Act, but what are the implications of choosing one option or the other? The form has to be faxed to Medicines Support Service unit of the local PCT.

Could anyone share their experience on this matter?

[Defblade]

This sounds like some sort of local paperwork, not what's legally required. Is it to provide funding for people outside of DDA? Any local services/agreements etc your pharmacy has signed up to will supercede the following information.

The requirements are that the pharmacist assess the patient (and if they're housebound, tough. Leaving the pharmacy and so removing pharmaceutical services for everyone else is not a "reasonable adjustment" to your working practices). If they fall under the DDA, then we need to provide help as appropriate for that patient (which may well NOT be "put them on a tray") and we are automatically given a small amount in each dispensing fee to help with this; if they don't fall under the DDA, tough.

Surgeries have no actual basis for refering for a complience aid - they most they could do is suggest a DDA assessment could be appropriate. The PCT have no reason at all for having their nose in it (possibly unless a complaint is made against you under the DDA by a disabled person; even then the PCT would probably not have any legal interest in the matter).

Sorry if this is all a bit harsh-sounding, PCTs inventing things beyond their remit and expecting us to do more than we have to on their behalf just winds me up (too long on LPC ).

[johnep]

Yes what they want is for you to do it all for nothing. If the surgery refuses to give weekly scripts, then do not do it. (Unless you work for a multiple which does all this for nothing)
johnep

[Defblade]

Yes what they want is for you to do it all for nothing. If the surgery refuses to give weekly scripts, then do not do it. (Unless you work for a multiple which does all this for nothing)
johnep

Easier to achieve weekly scripts when surgery has asked for the box - producing weeklies becomes a reasonable adjustment to their business under the DDA. Don't listen to them whine that we're paid to do it - it's down to their neogiators what they get paid for! (And this is about the only thing we came out ahead of them on....)