Hi has anyone else encountered hassle from getting a high dose inhaler from boots? i went in for my regular set of medication and the lady properly questioned me about the use of my medications and how long i have used them and at the end of the whole thing she said she would send a letter to my doctor. has anyone had this treatment from them or am i just unlucky?
boots nosey pharmacist.: Hi has anyone... - Asthma Community ...
boots nosey pharmacist.
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I've had a similar experience.
The last time I went to pick up my inhalers from the uni pharmacist she questioned me on the content of them, whether I knew how to use them and how often I'd been using my reliever recently!
I did feel a bit like telling her that she wasn't the doctor and I'm sure he wouldn't prescribe me medication without making sure I knew how to use it but I was too embarrassed.
By this point the whole crowded pharmacy knew my business and I just wanted to leave.
I would'nt have minded the questions but, to me at least, it seems that the pharmacist is there to dispense the medicine, not quiz you on it.
I had a really, IMPO, nasty b*tch in a Lloyds Pharmacy a few months ago question me about my asthma when I bought some sinutab. She went well beyond the usual 'pointing out that sinutab can make asthma worse' and began to ask me personal questions in front of about half a dozen staff and customers.
At first I hesitated and began to talk sheeplishly but this only resulted in her talking louder and louder and louder and asking more and more personal questions. It was clear that she was enjoying trying to humiliate me in public - a complete stranger to her.
At which point I realised, at best, she was, IMPO, a control freak and, at worse, was perhaps, IMPO, a Cluster B personality disordered sociopath - probably the awful and dangerous narcissistic personality disorder - so I talked back to her in a calm but forceful way, pointed out that it was none of her business, that she was not a trained pharmacist, nor a doctor, nor a nurse and asked her if she was aware that she was talking louder and louder and whether she enjoyed tried to humiliate me in front of others. Cluster B sociopaths love humiliating others but they can't take it - most bullies in the playground are such types.
One of the best things I have did in life was to read about sociopaths, the Cluster Bs, and how to spot the different kinds in everyday life. I wish I had been taught 40 years ago and would suggest everyone read up on them.
Make a complaint about her to her bosses.
I have had a pharmacist question the amount of prednisolne I'd been given, 3rd month at 40mg a day, but was done nicely and when explained it was for my asthma and that I still had chest infection that was fine. He was just doing his job as they seem to be about giving more advice and support to their clients, rather than just dispensing medication. They can give info about say using a spacer for high dose MDI steroid inhalers to prevent problems such as hoarse voice etc.
To stop any problems I have found that if i go to the same pharmacy it's easier, as they can see the meds you are on, that perhaps your condition is more severe (say if u are on nebs etc) and tend not to get the same problems with them questioning things as they get to know u. I am on an off label dose so once they did ring the gp practise to check the dosage, but they were nice about it, and fine now, If it's a locum pharmacist sometimes they look a bit oddly at me or might ask, but they explained that the questions were more about being the last check point for any medication errors before it gets to the patient, if it isn't a familiar dose or a lot of medication.
For me i have found a good pharmacy that has the same few pharmacists, and who are nice. I have had bad experiences with other ones, such as asking lots of questions loudly infront of other people, rather than asking quietly or in a separate area or just being unhelpful, such as saying ""you must be really sick to have to take all this,"" but I just haven't gone back.
I remember going to the chemist about a year ago for some diazepam for the dentist, and the woman behind the counter coming out with ""Poor Girl"" and shaking her head. I turned around and asked her to repeat it and funnily enough she wouldn't.
If you don't feel comfortable with anything they're saying or doing then tell them. It's not in their job description to be nosey wotsits, though they think otherwise half the time.
I've had that too. Plus anyone else's Boots short of supplies like Symbicort and Seretide? Even Aerohalers?
Ran out unexpectedly when an inhaler jammed, the surgery gave me a prescription that day. Boots - said they could get it perhaps the next day. Same in Lloyds. Fortunately we have an independent chemist too and he had it. Phew.
hi i did go back and i actually initially got told that she initially posted it already but then later i discovered the so called original is still there so i asked for it and a different pharmacist gave it to me- she wrote a total bunch of Crap and its worthless to send they would already have had this information and more. i'm still suspicious of them and think a copy has gone over anyway but i've already complaint on the online survey that they asked me to do now that i have a copy of this document i have her full name and id too.
bob, your right she probably is a sociopath. she was so rude that i was surprised that i kept calm. never going back there ever.
I would like to think any good pharmacist would question a high dosage of something and to see if I am using my medication properly. My repeat pharmacist does mine every six months as I would say it's part of being a professional body that they make sure you understand your medicines and how they interact with each other- especially as I now get two carrier bagfuls!
On the note of running out- yeah loads of mine has been had to be ordered, seratide, my cream for my allergies, the alendronic acid even my ventolin! Must be a shortage!
I agree with wss, but the real issue here is that only the pharmacist themselves has the training to do this, so none of the other staff in the shop should be doing it.
ive had the same problems with boots , nosey, rude and never got a stock of my meds
last year i started working for a major supermarket and i now find it nuch easier to get my prescriptions from the pharmacy at work because several members of staff know me and if the product is out of sock they order as priority for next day and its always ready when i go in next ! much better.
xx
ive had the same problems with boots , nosey, rude and never got a stock of my meds
last year i started working for a major supermarket and i now find it nuch easier to get my prescriptions from the pharmacy at work because several members of staff know me and if the product is out of sock they order as priority for next day and its always ready when i go in next ! much better.
xx
ive had the same problems with boots , nosey, rude and never got a stock of my meds
last year i started working for a major supermarket and i now find it nuch easier to get my prescriptions from the pharmacy at work because several members of staff know me and if the product is out of sock they order as priority for next day and its always ready when i go in next ! much better.
xx
ah..wss and peaksteve.
Its more than policy and procedure, its the fact that she did not listen and asked me the same question 4 times - i must have gone through the puffing process 4 times i told her im on my way into work 4 times then she got the book out and went through the GP's dosage. I tend to go to this one as it so close to my work place - then she went on and on you had 5 courses of antibiotics 2 courses of preds. to which i said - but im ok now! AND she was reviewing the past year!
never again - i think she was very patronising ""can you tell what this is for? about ventolin.. ""do you know what this is made up off?"" now that i got this so called important document i have her full name and pharmacists number to compain with! I was in there for like an hour when i said i dont have time now - she replied with im not comfortable to dispense until this was done. when i said i just saw my GP and asked for my prescription she said that they were signed and she cant return them...as bob says...she's a sociopath!
I have been refused prescriptions as it wasnt normal dose so had to check a number of times but now I stick with the same pharamacy they generally know with me nothing is ever normal dosage! And as I am on weird ones they always keep things in for me so I dont have to wait around!
I used to work in a pharamacy we had to ask if customers were on any other medications and check with pharamist incase of contrindications and in the case of ibuprofen we had to ask are they asthmatic. But we were never told to advise customers on longstanding conditions and what makes it worse
what really annoys me tho...more than weird woman..
Is that i have a pharmacist near by and he is the nicest man in the world he gives good advice and understands the stress with my weird type of asthma (its never leaving me alone! I've come to terms with that) and the only thing is - he always has the imported medicine the last seretide i got has russian writing on the box! So i stopped going to him and started to go to this rubbish boots now im in a dilemma!
bizkid...refused?
woah they refused you? on what grounds they need to dispense it nothing more?
Pharmacists querying doctors prescriptions would really get my GP annoyed. He's said it before that they should stick to their job of dispatching what he's prescribed rather than try interfering. Still I don't that problem, my repeat is held by Lloyds internet dept who mail the repeat to GP, he sends it back to them and they post my stuff, faultless and efficient service.
i'm going to have to start doing that too. i'm not going through that again. no chance...on top of that the notes she made were stupid and laughable! like repetitive of what the doctor told me to do. my doctor's would be furious too this lady totally over stepped the mark and almost pretended she was my doctor.
Confused,
try here, (select online service, and NOT the Express repeat service)
lloydspharmacy.com/wps/port...
make sure you got a months supply first then set it up is easy, phone them and talk it through if you like.
Once they have the repeat, you can phone them 2-4 weeks before you need a refill, I get everything 4 weeks in advance, but if you forget they'll email you 14 days before you run out, assuming everything lasts a month, then just phone and confirm what you want.
Was supposed to be all done online by February/March 2009 but GP's don't have EMIS setup yet and the systems don't work together yet, but if and when it does get working prescriptions will be electronic and only take a day or two at most before meds being posted.
I've used it for over a year, saves the trip taking the repeat slip to GP/Pharmacist and then a trip to collect whatever in a germ filled pharmacy.
i love emis.
its the only reason i never left my practice! I found one great gp who was hard to find and get an appointment with not anymore!
thanks for the links - amongst all this psycho pharmacist business i got over the shock of having to double my flioxtide tp add at night im definetly going to set something up like this once the doses get sorted.
woody i the weirdest asthma symptoms - i didnt mention anything as i think this may need a little more investigation before i state it as fact! I have an asthma attack at the same sort of time everyday - i think my asthma has driven me to the brink of madness and this pharmacist just kicked me over the last bit!
@confused, I've bumped up a thread for, just one of many. may explain the monthly eruption in symptoms.
My son has ankylosing spondylitis (sp) and psoriatic arthritis and was prescribed methotrexate by the rheumatology consultant. On his first visit to the pharmacy with his prescription the lady on the counter kept asking him questions about why he needed the medication, why had he been prescribed so much at once (1 months supply) and several other questions. He simply said that it was a consultant prescribed medication and that he needed to take it once a week! It was only after a 10 minute arguement with the assistant that he told her to get the pharmacist to come out and see him. He read the prescription and told the assistant there was no problem with it. After further questioning of the lady at the counter it turned out that she thought the prescription was for Methadone!!! Methinks this lady needed to learn to read a little more carefully!!!
Hubby had a medicines review at the local Asda pharmacy and they told him he was taking his inhalers wrongly and told him how he should be taking them! He was also told he was on the wrong doses! Went back to see the practice nurse just to make sure and she asked him to demonstrate his usual technique which proved to be correct and checked all his doses and said (her words) 'that silly b*t*h doesn't know what she is talking about'!!!!
pharmacists a health hazard
trish i know what you mean, she said some thing stupid like nasonex would bother my asthma - i was like hold on isnt nasonex available as an inhaler? its mometasone which available as asmanex twisthaler type i walked out thinking oh my she gives people advice and i know she was so so so wrong. she was just not qualified.
that assistant was just plain thick i had a go at one years ago who refused to give me my medicine and i think i shouted at her who do you think you are? i threw a hissy fit it was funny for me not her as she didnt expect it! Oddly enough that was a boots as well.
the assistant was clearly thick (like the one bob met)i would have embarrased her and picked the nearest thing with a word on it to check she can read! then ask her what day, date, month and year it is? - just to check and embarras her back.
i didnt get that pleasure today as i was so late for work in the end i ran out the shop and round the corner to work - whilst wheezing and ended up with a coughing fi
Hi Confused,
I've had a few problems with a Boots Pharmacist, he gave me a 125 dose Seretide evohaler instead of 250 and at the time I was really bad. What annoyed me was, it was checked by someone else, who didn't notice either! After a couple more 'issues' with the same pharmacist, I reported him to Boots head office who sent him on some kind of course.
I now use a different chemist.
Claireb
Our Boots argued about a prescription and made my daughter feel so low and bad in front of the other customers and almost as if the prescription was a copy or forgery. DD suggested they call the surgery but they couldn't get through. Surgery is the other side of the road, they could have nipped across!
Upset, DD phoned her dad, who stormed up the road - we live five minutes away. In a firm voice, he asked if they interrogated the methadone users in the same way. Murmurs of sympathy from the queue.
Grudging apology and prescription handed over.
I was questionned recently at the pharmacy I use, Lloyds about having Symbicort 400/12 and Pulmicort he wanted to know if a hospital consultant prescribed them. I told him it was the chest physician who put me on them, I think he was going to have words with my GP for prescribing two lots of steroid inhalers, lol!. My local Boots has an arrogant pharmacist and was very pleased when a Lloyds opened next to the GP surgery two mins from my home and went straight away to sign up for their repeat Rx service.
Lloyds Collection service is insane, both my parents use it, they both have severe arthritis, diabetes and dad had several strokes few years back so you can imagine the amount of meds yet we have never yet managed a successful collection when everything has been ready and at the correct time or something hasn't been missing. Saying this, it is the same place that everytime asks if I want to discuss the medication im on every time i collect a prescription, i get easily stressed and upset due to a mental health disorder so every time this irritates me and frightens me to the extent someone else had to come with me last few times cause i was gettin so freaked. thankfuly most staff know us well enough to know if we have a problem we will most certainly make it known!! lol so now its not so bad. I know they're trying to do their job and sorta trying to help but at the same time I think they forget the stress somethin so simple can cause.
Sorry if anyone feels im outa line but rant is now over. lol
did these dumb people forget along the way they are treating people who are already sick and stressed out.
i'm so surprised at getting so many replies i am waiting to see if she sent a version out if she has its a formal complaint to boots
Last year I had a couple of experiences with a Boots pharmacist, she wanted to know why I was on such high doses of Seretide and proceeded to phone the GP as she felt he was mistaken, he checked my records and letters from the hospital and confirmed it was the correct dose so that was fine... then the next time she wanted to know why I was on 3 different forms of Salbutamol (nebuliser solution, inhaler and slow release capsule) so I explained that the nebs and capsules were initiated by my consultant because I have severe asthma. After that she didn't really ask any questions I wasn't annoyed, I think its important they make sure, better safe than sorry afterall. I do find Boots to be really meticulous which is good but can be annoying when they don't have say my Ventolin evohalers but do have Salamol Easi-Breathes and can't give me that one but I understand they have to dispense exactly what is on the prescription.
Simi x
Whatever happened to doctor patient confidentiality?
hi simi,
surely doctor's review each others records i recently had another doctor review my file and he made recommendations. i'd rather have that than some junior like i had wanting to play house.
yes at that moment i seemed fine but my gp reviewed me and gave me the cocktail of meds for a reason. in my opinion they are totally violating the doctor patient confidentiality. yes they can be careful and check but not interrogate the way this lady did under the pretence its a review!
I don't intend to go on a one woman protest about this but its just made me think that these non doctor's also give out wrong information too. like the nasonex wrong...
update, got a formal apology!
Hi,
I did send a letter to complain and got a letter of apology from the head office along with the confirmation that the area manger was aware of the incident and that there would be an improvement in the service they provide.
the gift vouchers are nice too - but dont think i wanted to be compensated in that way though.
Boots
You must be sooo unlucky touch wood never had that problem....had 2 get Inhalers last week from there and had No such question apart from is it for yourself...
she wrote to question the doctors!
I know thats what i think too i went to a different branch and not a question. got my full set too three inhalers and the works not a question too. which kind of made me think i did the right thing with the complaint letter. seriously she wrote to my doctor to question their decision!
It's not always for myself either. My wife suffers from back pain which does render her immobile, and with the covid restrictions it's even harder to get proper attention from a doctor. Now and then I have to just go get her some Paramol. We're both aware of what it contains and the risks involved, but one particular pharmacy I'll avoid if I can see her hovering behind counter.
I'm willing to sign a waiver if necessary to absolve them from any penalties, just take my money, give me the meds and I'll be on my way. For the record wife has spoken to doctor and other than a standard dosage of co-codamol they say it's fine to go buy a packet if needed - esp over weekends.
This is when I haven't even been there for like 4-5 months and she somehow recognises me and guilt-trips me. I don't have time for that nonsense, but I'm glad I'm not the only one getting grief for just trying to get by.
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