Revealed: No open investigations into temporary pharmacy closures in Scotland
• 13 May 2022
There are currently no open investigations into pharmacies in Scotland for closing their premises at short notice, 12 of the country’s 14 health boards have confirmed to C+D.
It comes despite concerns over increasing reports of temporary pharmacy closures across Scotland.
Of the 14 health boards contacted by C+D, 12 responded to questions about closures in their locality and the measures they are currently taking to minimise the impact these closures have on patients.
If they have arranged anything, flights, hotel, or just having time off at the same time as their family, it is not really fair to expect them to cancel at the last minute.
Just come back from the Isle of Wight. It was hot and sunny and husband needed to buy some antihistamine eye drops so we popped in to Boots in Ventnor - staff inside and lights on but doors firmly closed. I know our local pharmacies don’t dispense meds if the pharmacist is on a lunch break but a lady passing by said they didn’t have a pharmacist at all!
Not in Scotland, but England, we have observed pharmacies in several nearby towns either reducing their opening hours, or even shutting completely, at very short notice. I went to collect some meds at my local Boots the other afternoon to find their pharmacy was only opening in the mornings that week, having recently extended the lunch break to 3 hours for several days the previous month. A shortage of pharmacists was cited as the reason. Yes, there are online pharmacies that deliver to your door, but they are really only useful for repeat meds, not for urgent or one-off prescriptions. In addition, otc meds that need a pharmacist to authorise the sale are therefore affected, and professional advice from a pharmacist, which we are often encouraged to seek, rather than book a GP appointment, for instance, is obviously not available. We do rely on our local pharmacies for many things, and not all have alternatives near to us.
I thought pharmacies had contracts with the NHS to open a certain amount of hours per week? Why do we have a shortage of pharmacists all of a sudden?. What on earth is going on?. Have they been taken on a training course for when they are given more work to do that we used to see the GP for?
And that the NHS has been putting pharmacists into GP surgeries and increasing the number of things pharmacists are expected to do.
Yes - I believe there are rules on numbers of hours. I always remember how, as I was growing up, many closed on Saturday afternoon. (As did quite a few shops.)
Despite these comments, it does seem odd that it is such an issue right now.
Makes for interesting reading thank . In the pharmacy we worked 9-6 Monday to Friday and closed for lunch 1- 2:15. Saturday morning work 9-1pm. When the GP's contract changed to Mon - Friday we started closing Saturday mornings( we were an independent not a chain). I believe the government is looking at Saturday working again for GP's which will mean more pharmacies opening as well. I think this is to try and take pressure off A & E and walk in centres
One local pharmacy closes 14:00 to 15:00 for lunch - not the shop, just the dispensary.
That isn't in itself a problem. But you only know this my reading the opening times on a bit of card at the pharmacy section. Their website implies they are open all shop hours.
And, of course, I know because of the number of times I forgot and went when they were closed.
Oh heck. We used to shut completely as there are many OTC meds that can't be sold without the pharmacist present. It is so annoying going into an open pharmacy and finding you can't purchase the item you want for another hour.
DoeStewart, ' I think this is to try and take pressure off A & E and walk in centres'
It just goes around in circles. GPs are under pressure, so change their hours. Which shunts the clients to overloaded A&E, so back to the GP surgeries, who are already understaffed. So let's allow pharmacists to diagnose and prescribe... but then we find they are closed when we need them!
I couldn't agree more, we need some joined up thinking somewhere. There was an MP on radio 4 the other day, he was asked about the state of health care, his answer was " we need family GP's were they know us and we know them,". I nearly keeled over, didn't we used to have those very GP surgeries ? No new ideas to fix the mess.
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