Update: New dry powder inhaler doesn't work

[Poobah]

A week ago I posted a question as to what you would do if a new inhaler didn't work, fresh out of the sealed box. I returned mine to Boots Pharmacy and received a replacement "because it was Christmas", but in future would have to obtain a new prescription in order to replace the faulty inhaler.

After a bit of digging, I have found some legal advice given to a pharmacist who had replaced a faulty dry powder inhaler. The legal position explained, "When you supply something to a patient on an NHS prescription, there is no contract between you and the patient. This means the patient has no rights under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 to say that the inhaler must be of satisfactory quality. I quite understand that, being in a caring profession, you chose to try to provide a new inhaler – but you were not under an obligation to do so. You could have told the patient to get a new prescription. "

Full response to pharmacist: chemistanddruggist.co.uk/CD...

Pharmacist's response: chemistanddruggist.co.uk/CD...

[janedivney]

Unbelievable. However, I think there’s a clear moral imperative to put the patient’s needs before any contractual obligation. I feel the GPC would take a dim view of a member who sent a patient off with no treatment for a potentially fatal condition. My solution is to always have a spare in hand. There’s too much at stake for us to rely on the “goodwill” of pharmacists!

[Poobah in reply to janedivney]

Agree! But it seems that having a good pharmacist isn't guaranteed; see the story below.

Fortunately, my GP now provides a prescription for two inhalers at a time and in future, I will start a new inhaler while I still have a few days on the old one, just so I have time to sort out a new prescription if necessary.

But it's clear that the pharmacist is between the rock and a hard place, when it comes to recouping their loss for a faulty inhaler. Pretty much what the Boots pharmacist told me - they don't get reimbursed for either the faulty inhaler or the replacement.

Another story I came across while searching for an answer occurred over this weekend and involved a branch of Boots (Chelmsley Wood). A type 1 diabetic customer came to pick up their insulin a couple of hours before the pharmacy was due to close (times of operation were displayed on the pharmacy counter). The pharmacist advised the customer that it would take at least 10 minutes to sort, so she popped into another shop and came back 20 minutes later at 4.15pm, to find the pharmacy closed and was told by another member of staff the pharmacy always closed at 4pm, despite the advertised 5.30pm time.

[janedivney in reply to Poobah]

I had the same problem with Boots closing early, on Christmas Eve a few years ago! They had an unusual prescription for my dying aunt, which I’d checked was ready, but when I went to collect it they’d closed an HOUR early, leaving a note on the door saying “sorry for the inconvenience”. It took my sister four hours to get an on-call gp to write another prescription, and drive 40miles where there was a late chemist, otherwise our aunt would’ve suffered greatly all over Christmas. Boots pharmacy service is disgusting imo. I’ve never used them since

[Poobah in reply to janedivney]

Outrageous! It's not even a case of going above and beyond, but just meeting one's contractual minimum and that is too onerous! Unfortunately all our local pharmacies have closed and Boots are the remaining option.

My sister was using a Rowlands pharmacy until recently, when they closed for good. But they were problematic on occasion. I went to pick up my sister's prescription on a Saturday morning, but the pharmacy was closed as the pharmacist hadn't arrived to cover their morning shift (not open again until Monday). The very helpful assistant was outside for the entire shift, explaining to all disappointed customers that the pharmacist was a no show and that head office knew, but hadn't provided any cover, apologising that she couldn't even dispense prescriptions that were ready for collection. She explained that pharmacists came from all over the country as there was a shortage and the pharmacy was closing because it was no longer viable. My sister was using them as her local pharmacy is a nightmare - takes a couple of weeks to fill prescriptions and queues of anything from one to two hours, only to find her prescription wasn't ready. No text service either.

[Itswonderful in reply to janedivney]

Again speechless

[Itswonderful in reply to Poobah]

Speechless Poobar

[JazzySalmon]

I have a friend who owns several independent pharmacies (I definitely should have studied pharmacy with her when given the option!!) and it is a struggle. The NHS doesn't want to reimburse these pharmacies properly at all. It's why so many have large non-pharmacy sections: the sales prop up the essential side of the business.

This is why more and more Boots are the only option. They can afford to run a pharmacy stuck in the back of a shop that makes a lot of money. It's not good for patients. I do recommend trying to use independent pharmacies when you can. They work extremely hard and every prescription helps.

That said, when I was switched to Luforbec and discovered it gives me asthma attacks, I went into a Boots pharmacy late on a Saturday and the pharmacist was wonderful about giving me a Fostair inhaler. I would have been at A&E otherwise so perhaps that's why she gave it to me. I do suspect they weren't be reimbursed for it now.

[Mandevilla in reply to JazzySalmon]

Our local pharmacy is a Boots one - it's the only one in our local town - and for some distance aroun. I've heard a number of people complaining about them, but I've always found them very helpful - and I suspect that many of the problems are in fact, the fault of our GP surgery, not Boots. A couple of times, I've been down to collect a prescription and the pharmacist has asked me to check it's correct because "it's not what you usually have". Sure enough, I've been issued with a totally different inhaler, based on the prescription from the surgery. And when I had a problem with my inhaler not being issued last year, I know it was definitely the surgery's fault, because Boots had accurate records of all the past medication they'd issued to me, while the surgery didn't have any record of the maintenance inhaler I'd been on for the past two years and also had no record that I'd ever been issued with Ventolin!!! So if you are having difficulty with your pharmacy, it is not always their fault - sometimes, it can be the surgery's error.

[strongmouse]

Your comments make me realise how fortunate we are locally to have two independent pharmacies.

I would have thought that someone within the NHS had responsibility for ensuring all patients have access to a local pharmacy.