Advice needed...

[flossiew]

Hi folks. To cut a long story short, my husband collected my inhalers for me this morning from a pharmacy where they're automatically ordered on my behalf. The problem lies in the fact that the prescription that came through from my surgery was for an inhaler which I'm no longer on as it wasn't helping. The asthma nurse put me on seretide 125 before the last prescription was issued so the mistake is the surgery's, yet when I explained to the pharmacist that an error had been made she said she couldn't refund the prescription fee which I feel is highly unfair. Is there anything I can do to recoup the cost- apart from making sure that my practice issues the correct prescription in the future??!!!

[Hidden]

Other than contacting the practice manager to see if anything can be done - pointing out that this was the fault of the surgery I'm not sure what you can do about this. For the future, if you're in the UK, it might be an idea to see whether it's worth getting a pre-payment certificate which works out cheaper if you have more than a certain amount of prescriptions per year (I have a feeling that twelve is the number, but without looking it up I can't be certain).

[Shezxx]

The same thing happened to me but I didn't accept it. I said I'm not on this inhaler now so please take it back as I don't need it. The guy was a lil confused but I explained that my surgery had messed up. My receptionists gave them the old prescription so I know exactly where u r coming from. Surely they can swap the inhalers it's not hard for them to do some of them think there above the docs makes me mad. Just ask n say If u don't swap them I will be ill I would. Hope u get this sorted. X

[Sunny-day in reply to Shezxx]

I agree with Shezxx

[Happychicken]

This isn't on....there has obviously been a mistake here and you're a paying customer!!! Ring Monday and hopefully you will get someone else. If you don't get anywhere then you need to take this to the manager. You should 100% get an exchange. I work in the health service and I would do all I can to ensure a pt has all they need and if a mistake had been made then I would aim to rectify it,

Hope this gets sorted

HC

[flossiew]

Thanks everyone for your advice. I was pretty irritated by the lack of concern shown by the pharmacist- but what really rankles is the fact that so many of us with asthma have to pay for our prescriptions. Anyway, rant over- I'll see what can be done on Monday and may look into the prepayment certificate... Take care and thanks again for taking the time to respond

[freefaller]

Do you not use an annual pre-payment rather than pay for your prescriptions as you get them? It would work out much cheaper for you. Next time make sure you or whoever collects your pr script ion checks the prescription before accepting it. Our pharmacy is so busy they often make mistakes and they cannot be rectified once the prescription has been taken. Just this morning I went to collect tablets and luckily the boxes were still waiting to be bagged and I could see they were the wrong ones from the packaging so did not accept them. Should have the correct tablets on Monday. We don't pay for prescriptions here in Wales any longer but hate to waste medication.

[flossiew]

Hi freefaller. Thanks for getting in touch. I was only diagnosed with asthma at the end of October last year and the specialist nurse is trying to get me on the correct inhalers/dose etc as I'm still coughing, wheezing and getting short of breath almost every day. I guess once that's sorted I will do the pre-payment way instead. I really hope my asthma symptoms soon get sorted though as I fell at work last weekend hurting myself all over - particularly my back -

and every time I sneeze or cough it seizes up even more! Thanks again for your advice, take care

[freefaller in reply to flossiew]

If you are having to change inhalers regularly and paying for them every time you could get a 4 month prepayment ( if they are still available). Must be costing you a fortune.

Good Luck.

[flossiew in reply to freefaller]

Thanks! I'll ask about it when I see the nurse for my review in a couple of weeks time

[freefaller in reply to flossiew]

Ask your pharmacist tomorrow or your health centre receptionist. The sooner you have one the sooner you save the money. Can you tell I am married to a Yorkshireman. Lol.

[flossiew in reply to freefaller]

😁

[freefaller in reply to flossiew]

In fact the last time I had one the pharmacist said I could put that date on it so it included the medication I was pr scribed that day. Not sure if you can still put a date on still have to look at the form as it is likely to have changed but your pharmacist will be able to advice you - especially as you are having to change that inhaler. I am surprised that he will not exchange the inhaler for you - Iknow it was the surgery's fault but even so. Anyway just shows we have to check everything ourselves. We usually check our repeat prescriptions in the pharmacy with the pharmacist as if we take them even outside to the car and try and take them back they won't take them. Such a waste NHS is short of money.

[flossiew in reply to freefaller]

It is rather ridiculous...

[Happychicken]

If you get more than one prescription a month then the prepayment is the best option. Also of you have meds in between like antibiotics/steroids then you get that as well. I didn't realise that everything was included.... So any meds from a gp appointment or hospital appointment.... Its certainly the best option for me. I pay for the 12 month one which is £10 something a month....if you think about it its £8 something just for one prescription!

Well worth looking into....if you make a mistake then its even more easily rectified as you can obtain another prescription and its already paid for,

HC

[flossiew in reply to Happychicken]

Thanks HappyChicken All this palaver of repeat prescriptions is rather confusing and I'm very grateful to everyone who's got in touch to offer advice xx

[Hidden]

Hello Flossie, the NHS has changed the seretide to a cheaper generic up and down the country so we have to have the Spiriva..My consultant had given me the seretide 250 but they still changed it. I think Mylan the generic firm doesn't do the 125 version if I understood correctly so they probably substituted your usual for another make..anyway I may be wrong..the generic version is a poor substitute so I have put my GP under pressure to issue me with the Seretide 250 because I need it to fit in my aerochamber but he got his hand smacked I think so here I am with this generic evohaler..who knows how and where it is made..even the GPs are fed up to use cheap generics all patients are complaining of problems with excipients, coloring etc..

So good luck with that xx

[flossiew in reply to Hidden]

I hope you get the inhalers you need HappyLondon. It will probably prove to be a false economy in the long run anyway as people start suffering exacerbations and end up in A&E as a result... Thanks for the update

[Hidden in reply to flossiew]

Exactly..short term thinking on their part..

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

I'm still fuming that this is being allowed and that AsthmaUK aren't kicking up a fuss about it; I don't believe they don't know what is going on, they certainly should do, there have been enough posts on this matter over the past year or so. It is disgraceful that asthmatics are being denied one of the most effective medications out there. A friend of mine has recently been taken off Seretide 125 and put on something different and his asthma is now not as well controlled as it was. The excuses (which seem to vary from practice to practice) are pathetic; the latest one I've heard applies to most inhaled steroids. Some doctors have admitted it's down to cost - thank you for being honest but it's not a lot of help to those who are affected by this.

There is another medication that uses fluticasone (the steroid component of seretide) though it doesn't have the salmeterol, and that is flixotide - which is what I am on. Happylondon, you could ask your doctor about that as an option.

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

Hello Maggie, I suppose I am over 60 and I am not paying anything I am costing them more..

Honestly I told the GP to save on my prescriptions because I decided last year that when I go to France to see the family, I would also see the family doctor who gives me a prescription for 6 months

so I buy my own seretide 250 now for 55€ a piece so very costly but the generic was useless and the ventolin evohaler which they replaced with salbutamol which doesn't do anything for me only cost 3€ a piece.

So I see it as a worthwhile investment :)) I have enough problems as it is. I do some French tutoring when comes exam time and that covers for my medication.

I think we should go back to basics, and a good quality inhaler is important to us and will save them money in the long run..

[flossiew in reply to Hidden]

Well said HappyLondon! Sad though that you're not reaping the benefits of being over 60 though Mind you, I'm not far behind you at 52 years young

[Hidden in reply to flossiew]

Well Flossie I did for a while Im 64 now and I felt lucky to benefit from a good health service after 42 years of work and national insurance contributions but now things are getting tighter not only the Nhs but pensions as well so we'll see what the future holds.

Xx

[QuietChest]

It's a pain paying for something you don't need. I. Defence if the pharmacist they can only issue what try are given a prescription for and once a drug leaves the pharmacy it can't be put back into stock even if still sealed. We are maybe responsible folks but there are others out there who aren't.

Until you are on a stable inhaler and dose I would not use the pharmacy order system. You know what you are on so I would be the one ordering direct from surgery. I'm sure the pharmacy can still pick it up for you? I know it's a pain but you will then be in control.

I would agree a pre payment certificate is the best way if you need to have regular prescriptions.

[flossiew in reply to QuietChest]

I must admit Quietchest that I am having doubts about using this system- although I understood from the leaflet they gave me at the time that they wouldn't order anything till I asked them to... I think once my medication is sorted I'll probably go back to the old way of doing things- seems a lot simpler, (and cheaper)!!!

[sharshy]

You should not have to pay for their mistake go back to the GP and tell them this, Prescriptions are not cheap and to have the wrong medicines for a dangerous thing like Asthma could have been life threatening. How do you this wont happen again?

[flossiew in reply to sharshy]

I'm glad I was paying attention! And yes, prescriptions aren't cheap- I paid about £24 yesterday

[Maes]

I believe that there is choice of two PPC cards available to buy:

3 months - £29.10

12 months - £104

See link

nhs.uk/NHSEngland/Healthcos...

It could save you quite a lot of money. I hope you are able to successfully exchange your meds.

[flossiew in reply to Maes]

Thanks Maes- it's certainly something I'll look into

[berth]

Hi, it's definitely worth getting a pre paid certificate, I was spending a fortune on medication and since getting the certificate, which was only in December I have more than got back my money that I paid for my certificate. All you have to do is go on line and fill in the form, once it's done you are entitled to free prescriptions even before a certificate comes.

Although I still don't understand why people with asthma should not be entitled to free prescriptions! Maybe we are, has anyone been into it?

[flossiew in reply to berth]

Sadly I don't think we are entitled to free prescriptions berth as I asked about it when I was first diagnosed; my asthma nurse also feels it's grossly unfair I think I really will have to do the pre-payment thing as it's costing me an arm and a leg. Thankfully I had a bit of extra money this month as I'm off sick after a bad fall at work, so I don't have to pay for travel as otherwise I'd be stumped

[Hidden in reply to berth]

No, we are not entitled to free prescriptions and to be fair even if the NHS wanted to let us have our medication free it could not afford to do so - there are around five million asthma sufferers in the UK.

There have been suggestions that those with more severe symptoms should be entitled to them, but the problem with that is where do you do draw the line, and that's before you take into account the fact that the condition that can change (for the better or worse) over time.

As it is we get our medication a great deal cheaper than the actual cost price. Believe me, it could be a lot worse.

[sharshy in reply to Hidden]

I think it should be free, it kills people and the NHS seem to have money for lots of unnecessary operations that are not life threatening whereas Asthma is. Operations for breast implants for glamour models and health tourists from abroad there is the money but spent on unnecessary choices.

[Hidden in reply to sharshy]

I think you'll find that most cosmetic surgery (as opposed to reconstructive surgery following on from trauma or disease) is not available on the NHS and is done privately.

There are lots of very difficult choices when it comes to prioritising treatments within the NHS. Asthma costs the NHS around one billion pounds a year which is a colossal amount. Children and pensioners do get free prescriptions, and those in the 18 - 60 age bracket have their medication heavily subsidised. Think about the cost price of, for example, your steroid inhaler, and then look at how much you actually have to pay for it. Then bear in mind that the term 'asthmatic' covers those who have intermittent mild asthma (and who may only require a ventolin inhaler) right through to those who have severe/brittle asthma, and that free prescriptions mean that all medication is free, not just the medication for the primary condition.

I know it's tough but it is not financially sustainable for the NHS to give asthmatics free prescriptions.

[sharshy in reply to Hidden]

There was a women in the paper who got her implants on the NHS because she wanted to be a glamour model because she was unemployed. Also there are health tourist that come here especially to have medical treatment. I think that the government should prioritise more and not waste money which could be used on need not want.

We should also wonder why so many people are getting Asthma.

[Hidden in reply to sharshy]

Out of interest, which paper?

Agreed on the last point. There have been some interesting television documentaries on this recently, one of which looked at the possible connection with the absence of certain gut flora. It was certainly an interesting theory.

[sharshy in reply to Hidden]

Daily Mail it was months ago the same lady went onto have more plastic surgery to look more appealing to gentleman. All paid for by the NHS the same lady also had a termination in order to get a career in the film industry. I have known someone who had laser hair removal and female hormones on the NHS and was constantly sending letters to complain the NHS were not doing enough for him. So there is money available in the NHS also too much administration and top heavy with managers. The money is there and I think wasted.

[Hidden in reply to sharshy]

I agree it shouldn't be allowed, but I think you will find these are the exceptions rather than the rule. But even so, a couple of cases (which would at have cost in the region of tens of thousands, I suspect) is not the same as the billions it would cost the NHS if asthmatics had free prescriptions.

[sharshy in reply to Hidden]

I know but I am worried that they are running down the NHS and trying to encourage us to get private health care, like the USA. I still think that there is alot of wastage and money could be spent more on those that need it.

[flossiew]

Thanks everyone for getting in touch. It's all been really helpful

[Wintersbite]

That happens every time with my surgery and pharmacy either something is missing ordered wrong brand or not there I'm always calling up to see what happened this time and it is stupidity coz how can you get the repeated evohaler mixed up with nebuliser nebuls not on repeat when it's clear as the patient wrote it down and handed it in

[flossiew in reply to Wintersbite]

Sad to hear I'm not the only person affected...

[sharshy]

Its a disgrace prescriptions not being correct, asthma kills and we rely on our meds. My surgery has gone on line for repeat prescriptions and still get it wrong.

[flossiew in reply to sharshy]

I would have thought that might have been more of a fail - safe way of ordering prescriptions- evidently not

[Sameer1]

It's a cost cutting measure, they have put you onto a cheaper one and the pharmacist duly obliged. It's happening e everywhere, so many of us including me were switched from Symbicort which was great to a new cheaper one and I'm having problems with compliance but been told we don't care, that's what's happened

[flossiew in reply to Sameer1]

Hi Sameer. Sorry to hear that you have also been put on a cheaper, less effective inhaler. That's not the case for me though as the "unexpected item" that I was issued with was just for a preventer inhaler, not the combined one I'm (meant to be) on now...