The government suggest visiting your local chemist for advice / treatment rather than visit the local GP, if you can get an appointment or if a local GP still exists.
The government has now reduced the funds to chemists.
It seems that the local chemist may close because of this change and other changes..
Boots seems to be hoovering up local independant chemist shops.
With the introduction of electronic prescriptions, online companies are after the market for repeat prescriptions. One such company has been leafleting a local area and claims to have already dispensed nearly 5M prescriptions so another threat to to the local chemists.
So the future is prescriptions delivered by Royal Mail and stock up with tradition remedies ?
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Our doctors surgery is approaching that, an online repeat prescription and routine appointment system. Repeat prescriptions are sent to the pharmacy of your choice most of which have a free delivery service although I collect mine from a nearby chemist. The system is called "Patient access" and is accessed with an app on my tablet which is initially authorised by the surgery.I find it an easy and convenient system to use.
Edit-
I have noticed my local independent chemist diversifying with parcel collection and delivery courier companies.
Last edited by: Old Navy on Thu 2 Jun 16 at 08:26
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>> The government suggest visiting your local chemist for advice / treatment rather than visit the
>> local GP, if you can get an appointment or if a local GP still exists.
>> The government has now reduced the funds to chemists.
>>
>> It seems that the local chemist may close because of this change and other changes.....
.
>> So the future is prescriptions delivered by Royal Mail and stock up with tradition remedies?
Well, to be blunt. If that is the way it is going to be, then that is the way it is going to be. So be it.
It's progress.
When the mechanically propelled motor vehicle was invented and developed, the horse drawn passenger vehicle business died. It put many farriers, coachmen and postillions out of work. No one is seriously suggesting that shouldn't have happened.
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There are several chemists within easy reach of where I live, but I use the pharmacy which shares the doctors' surgery premises.
It has operated an electronic repeat prescription and other services for some considerable time and you can order by phone, on-line or personal visit; the items can be delivered or collected as convenient (it's only about 200 yards from where I live, so easy to collect). You can request a text to say when a prescription is ready if you wish.
The pharmacist also does a regular check to ensure that there are no untoward reactions to any medicines (although this is additional to those of the doctors for most patients); I understand that the chemists get paid for such work as would be expected.
As Duncan says, it's progress, especially as doctors have been under more and more pressure in recent years. A doctor friend who has just retired told me he was, in the end, quite relieved to be able to enjoy a less stressful lifestyle and enjoy the company more of his wife and family members.
However, it is true that Boots has been taking over more and more pharmacies in recent years, some from retiring chemists who benefit from the very considerable financial asset they have owned.
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My prescriptions go electronically to Tesco. That was fine when I used to go shopping but now I have it delivered but they won't bring the prescriptions. Not a problem though as the chemist bit is open quite late so I go down in the mid evening when it's quieter. Certainly easier parking there than getting to any of the chemists in town.
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For a million years chemists have been a right pain in the a*** with their restricted opening hours. Their silly little rota of the one chemist within 20 miles that has begrudgingly agreed to open outside 9 - 5 has been a source of great irritation for years.
They intentionally extended that regime for as many years as they could exploiting their position in the market and refusing to allow new entrants or other service providers.
Well, now their position in the market is less and they are losing their dominance.
Zero sympathy.
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There are two chemists in our town - Boots and an independent.
Prescriptions can be sent electronically to the chemist of one's choice, and repeat prescriptions ordered online.
We always patronise the independent - they are nicer people, much more efficient, and have assistants who actually serve customers instead of hiding behind a glass screen pretending to be busy while the queue builds up, which I notice in most Boots branches I go to.
I went to another Boots recently, and found the usual pattern. Six sales points, no assistants in sight, and when one did eventually appear I was waiting at the wrong counter.
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I use the same method as ON, but in my case, via a website, no 'apps' here.
Because my local chemist will deliver repeats for free, I try to make sure there are several items in a request, and such are not made too often. My only gripe is I have no way of talking to them short of going there as being deaf, I don't do phone calls.
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>> I try to make sure there are several items in a request, and such are not made too often.
+1
The other thing I have arranged to make things a tiny bit easier for my local chemist is to ask the surgery to change the number of tablets prescribed for a couple of items.
Many items come in packs of 28 but " Baby Asprin" comes in a pack of 56 and another tablet I need comes in a pack of 30 so by this means the pharmacist does not need to faff about splitting packs and re boxing them and I always get original boxes.
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My surgery will only dispense a month at a time. I'm not sure the reasoning, I guess less waste maybe, but the stuff I'm thinking of is my long term (repeat prescription) meds, and they won't go to waste except if I die, which I'm not about to do.
Unless the doc knows something I don't, of course!! :-)
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There is lots of cash in a Pharmacy - if it is in the right place.
Friend sold out to Asda - not the pharmacy BUT the licence - nowdays £1/2million for an NHS licence is quite common.
He has a friend who had some 21 outlets and got some £14million - there were some properties - most were rented - so licence, stock & goodwill roughly £650K each on average.
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In my older age I'm finding myself going slightly "Green" - a good herbal smoke (been a non-smoker for over ten years) calms, and soothes far more aches and pains than any amount of Co-Codamol, and it makes me feel alot better. Not trying to encourage this type of thing tho' -just saying......
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I get excellent service. On the PC I click what I need, write so&so shop please on it. The doc OKs it before what ever the chemist's deadline is for his collection -- chemist is 1/3 mile away. He starts delivering at 01300 hours. I mostly get it that afternoon, but if not, the next.
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My apothecary is about 200 yds away so I can even walk there sometimes. I'm on smutty email terms with the owner, Maneet, who then forwards them on to my GP. The three or four girls who work there are all on first name terms with me and vice versa. Lots of teasing and joke telling goes on. Sometimes I just go in for a sit down when passing but I've not been offered a cuppa yet !
They ping out my 5 morning tablets for me into a 28 day pack. The rest of my stuff is given to me at the same time and I check it there...giving anything of which I have a surplus back.
We have about 6 chemists in the village, one of which is a Boots.
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Our local Health Centre uses systmonline.tpp-uk (dot) com , which enables registered subscribers to order repeat medication and make GP appointments on line, amongst other things. Nurse appointments are not available under the scheme.
The electronic transmission of prescriptions to the pharmacy of one's choice works well.
One of my medicines, prescribed bi-monthly, is classed as a controlled drug and whilst I can order it online with all my other stuff, it is not allowed, apparently, to be transmitted to the pharmacy electronically.
A call to the pharmacy telling them I've ordered a batch of medication to include this one and they will call at the Health Centre, to physically collect the prescription for this one item, and process it to be collected (usually) or delivered (unusually) as one batch.
Service, indeed.
Last edited by: Roger. on Thu 2 Jun 16 at 23:05
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On the occaisions I have required controlled drugs the prescriptions have a!ways been hand written.
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Rather weirdly, here you can photocopy a prescription and use it more than once.
Most strange.
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>> Rather weirdly, here you can photocopy a prescription and use it more than once.
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>> Most strange.
The corollary presumably being that you have to pay for the drugs?
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Pendant alert.
>> We have about 6 chemists in the village, one of which is a Boots.
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A pedant might say that your residential area is too large to be called a village if it has 6 chemists.
What is your definition of a village?
www.bbc.co.uk/history/domesday/dblock/GB-536000-261000/page/13
Last edited by: Duncan on Fri 3 Jun 16 at 05:48
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>> What is your definition of a village?
Somewhere that is too small to have a chemist.
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The demise of the local chemist ? - Old Navy
