AIBU to wonder whether people take th NHS for granted?

To think the fear of tampered medications is still kind of recent.
Does it even happen?
It is a enormous waste....if the Pharmacy send out something I cannot use, or too much, it has to be binned yet it can be clear with that say a blister pack of pills is that it is untouched

There is no consistency here either. Some Pharmacies will return items to the shelf if they haven't left the premises. Others seem keen to destroy. Perhaps can't be bothered with the paperwork required to return it to use?

pink it’s wider than tampering - storage temperatures are incredibly important for some medicines. My guess is that storage conditions are a greater threat than tampering.

www.careinspectorate.com/images/documents/1915/Temperature%20Reqs%20for%20Medicine%20Storage_HCR0316099.pdf

This sets it out. When I used to inspect GP premises, we had to verify the temperature of the fridge used for storing certain medicines and the surgeries had to keep a log sheet attached to the fridge on which the daily temperature reading was recorded.

Thanks suziewoozie I never knew about the complications of storage. I do think the problem of the re-use of medicines is so much more complicated than most of us realise, and good intentioned as the general public may be the restrictions are there to protect everyone.

But surely medicines being held at a pharmacy for customers are kept securely and at the right temperature until they’re collected? If not, why not?

If my DH’s simvastatins are safe for him to use when he collects them, why should they be destroyed if he doesn’t, for whatever reason?

Not that I've noticed Maggiemaybe they are kept next to the counter in a tray at my local Boots. I assume they might store them elsewhere overnight.

Maggie I was talking about the complaints about pharmacists not taking back medicines that patients return. I’d never heard before about pharmacists destroying medicines not collected. I hope when prescriptions go uncollected that the pharmacists infirm the GP surgery.

trisher I’m also ultra aware of storage temperatures because a family member uses insulin. That’s a very serious issue of course as ineffective insulin could result in their death. But it’s an important issue generally and pharmacists are ultimately and utterly responsible for anything they dispense as far as their storing it correctly and being fully aware of its provenance. We should be grateful we have high professional standards in this country when you think of all the counterfeit drugs swamping the internet and unregulated markets.

Depending on what you are collecting, I think you’ll find that the pharmacist collects them from different storage areas in the shop. Some are fetched from the fridge. Others are fine at room temperature.

Never thought of that suziewoozie but I suppose unless you are collecting thngs that need special storage you just wouldn't know. Ido think it is much more complicated than it seems at first.

It’s my GP surgery website that states that all repeat prescriptions not collected within 2 weeks will be destroyed, suziewoozie. My DH collects his from a local pharmacy, I guess others go to the surgery itself to collect theirs. Wherever they are held, I can’t see why they should be disposed of.

I’m going to email the surgery and ask them.

Maggie I can’t help but wonder they destroy the dispensed medications or destroy the actual bit of paper on which the prescription is printed? Is your GPs a dispensing surgery?

I'm starting to wonder if that's what they mean, suzie. It would certainly make more sense. The sentence is at the end of the information meant specifically for patients signed up to patient access. We don't get any paper prescriptions if signed up, just order what we need online. But I can see that sentence also appears on the information given for patients who still prefer to pick up paper prescriptions.

I've just seen that we can update our own medical records online. I've never noticed that before.

As for the cost of missed appointments, I'm sure some of this is down to inefficient NHS admin. My dh was sent to the wrong centre for a minor procedure. By the time he got there and was told, it was too late to get to the other centre for the appt.
Also a Bil, many years after he'd moved house - and in the meantime had had several appt. letters sent to his correct address - had a letter sent to the address he'd left over 15 years previously! If the current owners hadn't forwarded it, that would have been another appt. missed.

And I've heard so many times of relatives/carers of people with dementia, repeatedly telling NHs staff that it's no use sending letters only to such patients, who will not only never remember, but will very likely hide or destroy the letters. The carer needs a copy, too.

They always quote 'patient confidentiality' but what is the use when appts. are almost certainly going to be missed? It's all very well if you have a Health and Welfare power of attorney, but some people stubbornly refuse to agree to this, esp. when dementia has in any case made them suspicious of anyone's motives.

It’s a really tricky one isn’t it about patient confidentiality. If only people sorted out LPAs whilst they were able to. If they haven’t, I just don’t know what the answer is.

suziewoozie

I never thought about temp storage. But I have tried to return pills that have just been brought to my home via a carer and they won't though common sense says it's been 10 minutes!

As well as temperature, exposure to light and moisture can be problematic. And think about it from the poor pharmacists point of view - how are they supposed to know who to believe? It would be unworkable.

When I started my petition I wanted to open a dialogue about the situation as it is with waste of NHS resources and discussions about what could be done. Sharing the information will make a difference and will get people thinking. So, even if my petition does not succeed in persuading the Health Secretary to authorise a fresh nationwide campaign to inform people, I sincerely believe discussions between us, spreading to family and friends, will definitely influence people to actively consider their options and lead to savings in any event.