The Lobby – general discussion

So if Christopher Columbus had waited a few weeks longer he could have taken a set of pencils with him to America. Of course, at that point he didn’t know where he was going 2B.

Celebrities learned this years ago.

Yes, but I get the impression that “Latest comments” is settling down at last.

Paying to sort out the problem could put costs through the woof.

He may be barking up the wrong BTree.

I suggest asking to speak to a GP if the receptionist is unhelpful, Beryl. If the online pharmacy fails to deliver on time it would be reasonable to provide a replacement prescription. A local pharmacy might be able to collect and deliver the medicines or a neighbour might help if asked. If you get nowhere you could ring 111 and that might catalyse action.

I order online and my prescription is collected by the local branch of Morrisons. I’m not prepared to go into the shop at present but a member of staff brings out what I have ordered if I ring from outside.

Thank you Wavechange. I received a reply from the pharmacy to my email this p.m. which states ”You have already spoken on the phone to members of our team,” but there was no indication as to when, or if I will receive the medication before it runs out on Friday.

Apparently, if they are unable to supply it they have a system whereby they contact the NHS database who will forward a code which you take to any pharmacy you choose who will supply it according to certain conditions. The problem is they are not saying whether they are able to supply it!

I would have to get passed the receptionist to speak to a GP
who was adamant, as far as they were concerned, once they have electronically forwarded a prescription to the pharmacy, the matter was out of their hands!

There is a website which explains this in more detail:
http://www.nhs.co.uk – Common Health Questions > Medicines

Also NHS 111 online is very informative.

I hope that this is resolved soon, Beryl.

I request a repeat prescription every two months or so, aiming to have enough to last another month in case something goes wrong. My present GP surgery uses Patient Access to handle repeat prescriptions and appointments, and the previous surgery used SystmOnline. Both have worked very well.

I presume you are using an online pharmacy that does deliveries – something I have not needed so far.

Pharmacies can, and frequently do, run out of medication, especially those within a hospital environment when they resort to phoning around to other hospitals and pharmacies in the area in an attempt to make up the shortfall.

In my case, the hospital consultant increased my medication at the start of lockdown and sent a reserve supply to tied me over meantime. A letter of confirmation to this effect was sent to my local GP, and copied to me, but unfortunately the GP failed to recognise the increase and continued to under-prescribe for the following 7 months.

The reserve supply was sufficient to last until recently, when I finally had to contact the GP Practice, alerting them to the discrepancy, but a prescription had already been forwarded to the online pharmacy for the original dose. A further two amended prescriptions were sent to the pharmacy, apparently without cancellation of the first which caused a problem at the dispensing stage.

A whole comedy of errors on the part of my local Practice where receptionists are paid to play down the mistakes of their fellow medics, unfortunately at considerable cost to their patients.

Hubby had a similar problem some months ago using Boots online pharmacy. Our only contact with them seems to be with someone who has absolutely no connection to the pharmacy.😒

The result is over-prescribing of some meds in separate prescriptions with one item delivered on its own a few days later in an over-sized box. It was so much hassle getting them all one way or another, we don’t want to upset things by trying to correct them.

After the start of Covid, our GP practice started an email service. Emails were forwarded and answered by a GP very quickly so a very good service from our point of view even if they didn’t answer our questions or sort out the online meds prescriptions. Unfortunately, they have stopped this service already in favour of an online form.

But when some meds were missing, our GP practice sent a prescription to our small Boots local chemist and the local volunteer group very kindly picked it up for us. Our GP reception is actually quite good, shame about most of the GPs although, perhaps as most of them have changed, I should reserve judgment until I see them again.

Usually, anywhere is more helpful than than the GP, either NHS 111 or the out-of-hours/emergency GP contact given by our surgery.

I hope you are sorted out soon Beryl.

Thanks alfa, I do think Which? could look into privately owned online pharmacies who claim to save the NHS a lot if money but still manage to make a profit.

Are they regulated and who decides has priority when supplies are running low and what alternative arrangements do they have when they can’t supply a particular medication, and why some GPs are more willing to prescribe emergency prescriptions for those who need them and others are not?

Hi Beryl, I suggested Which? look at online pharmacies some time ago.

I can’t remember which one it is now, but one of them bombard you with leaflets that suggest they ARE the NHS online pharmacy. Their small print suggests anyone can dispense the prescription and a qualified person supposedly checks them. If they are handling thousands of prescriptions a day, there is every chance many will not get properly checked and wrong meds sent to patients which could be quite dangerous.

I did a search for are online pharmacies regulated and came up with:
https://www.pharmacyregulation.org/registration/internet-pharmacy
All pharmacies in Great Britain, including those providing internet services, must be registered with the GPhC and meet our standards for registered pharmacies

https://www.nhs.uk/using-the-nhs/nhs-services/pharmacies/dangers-of-buying-medicines-online/

https://medicine-seller-register.mhra.gov.uk/
You can use this register to check if a website is legally allowed to sell medicines to the public.
The Distance Selling Logo must be displayed on every web page that offers to sell human medicines to the public

I think GPs vary from surgery to surgery and how they are run. Some have reception Rottweilers to contend with that prevent patients gaining access to appointments or doctors.

Many GPs refuse to prescribe diabetic test strips. Diabetics who monitor and look after themselves are less likely to require knock-on expensive treatment later in life, so false economy.

There is a brief mention on page 23 in relation to the Whirlpool washing machine recall.

And is that all?

@gmartin, Thanks for pointing those out, George.
I think what I find disappointing is that Which? Conversation, while there are the brief mentions in different places as are given above, is not featured in its own right in the report. Nor are they featured (hardly) in the magazine. The impression given is that it not an important source of material for Which?.

But after several years of AGM’s promising more Member engagement it seems further off than ever. Convos could be a good step in that direction, I feel, if they were taken real notice of, responded to by Which? and structured in ways that led to outcomes rather than a place for a chat.

And I would still like to see one Members only Convo where such matters could be discussed.
🙂

Thanks George. I found all these references after posting. It would have been helpful if there had been a brief explanation of Which? Conversation in the report. Visitors to the website will have had plenty of references to Convo but if recent subscribers just look at the magazine they might not be aware of its existence.

Indeed, no one I know or speak to has ever read or contributed to Which Conversation. Perhaps they have and are not admitting it, but I doubt that. Certainly no one outside the site has ever said anything to me about anything I have written or about anyone else for that matter.

Perhaps if it was promoted in the magazine as a source of information, and in the hope (maybe vain) as a way for members to interact with Which? and, through some appropriately structured topics, contribute to Which?’s work we might generate real interest. But it seems very much sidelined and for our amusement only.

I do not remember seeing any of the constructive proposals made in Convos acknowledged or developed by Which? in its campaigns or magazine articles. We have, for example, discussed the ATM issue at length and suggested alternative sources of cash but I do not see these explored by Which? We’ve questioned the Whirlpool response to their recalls and asked about customers legal options, we’ve talked about a proper recall system, we’ve questioned the usefulness of the OPSS, we’ve asked for better consumer protection from Trading Standards, and proffered help and proposals in many other topics but with no response.

It has been a drizzly day here today and one or two things haven’t gone well so perhaps I’m just feeling a bit jaded. 🙁

It occurred to me Malcolm, perhaps Which? Conversation website would be unable to cope with too large an influx of extra contributions. There have been a few occasions, for example, when The Lobby has struggled, the last one just recently.

Sorry to hear you are feeling a bit jaded. It’s a difficult time for everyone and the weather doesn’t help 🙁

Yes Beryl, that could be a problem. Perhaps better software would be needed, but that already looks to be needed from what some commenters say.

We have in the past, though, had floods of comments on particular Convos promoted on social media without a problem, as far as I know.

It just seems a shame, to me, that there must be a lot of people out of the 600 000+ membership with wide and varying experience, expertise and background who could really contribute to Which? Convo topics in an informed way, if only they were motivated. Currently there are only around a dozen people who routinely support Convos.

Each issue of the magazine has a section headed AWARD-WINNING JOURNALISM. Perhaps this repetitive self-promotion could be replaced with brief information about Convo and other ways of getting involved.

Which? Conversation is frequently full to bursting with repetitive answers to “would you like a sweetie”-type questions. I would prefer more useful informed content instead of bulk volume and I am sure this is what might be putting of some people from engaging with this site. Unfortunately also, few people from commerce, industry and the professions come here to explain some of the things we comment on. I think there is scope there to enrich Which? Conversation.

I have no criticism of the journalism evidenced in Which? Magazine; it’s as good as you get in the media these days but it does seem to take an awful lot of people to produce it.

I think you have touched on a very valid point John. We are directed by the topics that come up for discussion and this might be a reason why people don’t engage, because they don’t find these topics interesting enough to bother about. Of course, we, ourselves, introduce things in The Lobby and we don’t seem to be that good in our choice of issues. All relevant of course but, maybe, not particularly appealing to others. The floods tend to be about injustices or bad experiences – look what happened to me – what can I do about it – etc.
Then there is the point that serious debating subjects require considerable background knowledge and tend to be specialist in their outlook. Jo public is not tempted to contribute.
Having said all this, it is good to have a forum where there is challenge and a meeting of minds for those who enjoy these things. Selfishly, that should be sufficient to continue chatting among ourselves. The real breakthrough would come if Which?, who is the sleeping parent, woke up and took part. Even better if we became a forum for policy discussions and our thoughts were put to some good use in the magazine and for consumers too. The Lobby offers diversity, but what about a page that begins thus: “We are covering the following issues in our forthcoming magazines. Please comment freely on anything that you think we should include. Today we are asking you about…. ” This is not a survey, it is open ended and it can become an additional productive thought process.

Good John and not much to add to that, it all makes sense. Our generation does have its vulnerable and poor, but for those who lead a quiet comfortable life, motivation is far better than persuasion in helping – and guiding – the youth and beginners in the world of work. I have sympathy for their predicament and though most youngsters are never seen without their phones, their struggle for milestones is harder than ours was. Benevolent grandparents and uncles can influence and help here. The state would be intervening because they think we over indulged, society would intervene because they would be grateful for our help and rely on us to decide what we can give.
In addition to buying locally, we can give our time to society and provide experience without charging for it. Though I don’t wander too far from home, I would dispute the notion that bucket lists are an extravagance of consumerism. For those that enjoy travel, the new time of leisure makes this possible for the first time, without the empty office chair pulling us back.

I have not heard of Animation Day. Is it connected with the Animation Movement?

Which is what facts often do.