Long term medication problems?

[Bulletguy]

I'm on regular prescribed medication and never had any issues drawing three or four months supply when going away........until now. It's caused absolute chaos and just wondered what others come up against as it seems GP's have their own "unwritten rules".

 

First off my local Pharmacy, which is under new management, told me they couldn't issue more than one month supply without the GP's authority. So i had to make an appointment to get more.

 

Took the prescriptions in, asked if everything was ok, they said it was, and i told them i'd pick the lot up closer to when leaving. I've just phoned them to check they have it all ready........only to be told the GP hadn't made the prescription out right!!

 

I've now had to contact my GP again who has re-issued me with 3 months....but told me the NHS only advise a max of 2 months. This seems very odd when someone i know who is diabetic on insulin, gets 6 months supply in one go and as she said, just one weeks dose is enough to kill if you don't know what you are doing.

 

My medication is neither addictive or dangerous so i it seems very much that GP's write their own rules.

 

Does anyone else have this problem in obtaining a batch of medication and if so, what limit has your GP set?

[hallii]

I get 2 months at a time, but I have learned that busy GPs don't seem to check how long ago you had the previous script, at least a couple of weeks goes unnoticed. So I just get them early and build up a stock ready for hols. Problem sorted.

 

H

[Bulletguy]

hallii - 2015-06-17 4:20 PM

 

I get 2 months at a time, but I have learned that busy GPs don't seem to check how long ago you had the previous script, at least a couple of weeks goes unnoticed. So I just get them early and build up a stock ready for hols. Problem sorted.

 

That won't work with my Pharmacist. He will not dispense more than one month supply without my GP making out a prescription for X amount of months.....and the GP told me the absolute max he will allow in one lump is 3 months. So there is absolutely zero chance of me building up a supply.

 

Whats so damn frustrating is the Pharmacist who used to run my 'local', knew i went away for 3 months or more and would issue irrespective. But she's left and a new guy is in and he runs it by the rule book.

 

I can see why some GP's have tightened up.......costs. But it just seems they have written their own rules on how they prescribe.

[Guest JudgeMental]

2 months normal. 3 month occasionally seems to be the order of the day where I live. Why do you think long term stayers have to fly back occasionally. Change the chemist for a start, sounds a bit above himself! His loss...they make a fortune out of us via nhs! :-(

 

 

If your on genetic drugs they can maybe be bought cheaply abroad. Check next time your away

[Bulletguy]

 

Yes i could ask around at other Phamacies in town but don't think i'd get very far.

 

I live in a village and had built up a good rapport with the girl who used to run it so getting what i wanted when i wanted was never an issue. She used to overlook the fact each prescription was only for one month and if she had four left, then she'd give me four months supply.

 

No idea why she left because it seemed very sudden and the 'new guy' came in. Maybe she'd dished out bulk prescriptions for other people and her bosses took exception to it.

 

When the 6 x 1 monthly prescriptions first came in i thought the idea was to save the GP work, but if anything it seems to have created more work rather than less!

[tonyg3nwl]

Hi, I have to do self cathertisation as a result of previous prostate problems.

 

I have therefore to order enough to cover my adventures away from home, and arrange with supplier to double order intime for departure..supplier always then gets the prescription direct from gp, and so far the system has worked very well.

 

only real problem is calculating the likely useage rate, and allow a margin..this trip eleven boxes of 30 to cover 6 weeks away..

 

how many times a day do you visit the little room..depends on how much you eat and drink, and how hot it is..

 

how many spare..will see when we get home..

 

tonyg3nwl.

 

[Mike88]

An earlier post mentioned that you can buy certain medicines abroad which require a prescription in the UK. While that was the case I'm unsure whether it is possible now.

 

I have a condition which requires me to carry antibiotics. The day before I left home I discovered that mine were out of date so thought I could pick some up in Spain as I had bought them before on several occasions. They no longer are able to provide them over the counter. I'm unsure whether there is a european directive preventing them from being sold but in Spain at least they are no longer available without a prescription. I asked the same question in Portugal with the same result. Perhaps this is the result of recent publicity relating to doctors restricting the use of antibiotics but I would not rely on buying any medication over the counter in europe without checking first.

[Bulletguy]

Mike88 - 2015-06-17 8:17 PM

 

An earlier post mentioned that you can buy certain medicines abroad which require a prescription in the UK. While that was the case I'm unsure whether it is possible now.

 

None of my medication would be available 'over the counter'. If desperate i'd have to visit a GP and go through the long winded process, which may in some circumstances require a translator to explain why i am on 'AB & C' medication and why i have run out.

 

It's simply not a viable option.

[StuartO]

The UK National Health Service provides for UK residents while resident in UK, not including those who choose to go abroad for extended periods, yet we expect it to do so if we plan to tour abroad in a MH for an extended period. The NHS will usually provide medication for a short holiday but much longer periods are not part of the deal.

 

There are ways of coping with this, for example by consulting a doctor abroad and getting drugs as required - but of course it's much easier to try to cheat by taking a big stock of NHS-supplied stuff with you. After all you'd be taking that stuff if you stayed in UK wouldn't you?

 

But it is cheating so don't kid yourself that it isn't. And don't complain if your GP won't cheat for you, or a pharmacist won't supply drugs without a valid prescription. They are merely doing their jobs properly. If you want different deal.

 

Write to your MP to get things changed but don't moan about your NHS doctor doing his NHS job properly.

[Will86]

One of the ways I overcome this is when I'm likely to be away for a spell I shorten the order time by a week or so which means that I can accumulate extra ready for the off day.

 

Will

[mikejkay]

StuartO - 2015-06-18 9:09 AM

 

The UK National Health Service provides for UK residents while resident in UK, not including those who choose to go abroad for extended periods, yet we expect it to do so if we plan to tour abroad in a MH for an extended period. The NHS will usually provide medication for a short holiday but much longer periods are not part of the deal.

 

There are ways of coping with this, for example by consulting a doctor abroad and getting drugs as required - but of course it's much easier to try to cheat by taking a big stock of NHS-supplied stuff with you. After all you'd be taking that stuff if you stayed in UK wouldn't you?

 

But it is cheating so don't kid yourself that it isn't. And don't complain if your GP won't cheat for you, or a pharmacist won't supply drugs without a valid prescription. They are merely doing their jobs properly. If you want different deal.

 

Write to your MP to get things changed but don't moan about your NHS doctor doing his NHS job properly.

 

I disagree. May, just, be applicable to those who live abroad full time but I live in the UK and I pay taxes in the UK. Would you be happy for me to not pay tax while I am abroad?

 

In any event, in EU countries I am entitled to medical support. The amount of spport varies from country to country but it still exists. Getting a prescription filled for 3 months or so saves time, effort and confusion, not just for the recipient but for the health system in whatever country in question.

[Dave C]

When we had our narrowboat we were often away for up to six months at a time. Our doctor understood and was quite happy to give us six months worth (2 x 3 months) of prescriptions which we collected before leaving home, thus not having to seek out a chemist while away.

 

In 11 years we never had a problem with this.

 

Dave

[StuartO]

mikejkay - 2015-06-18 11:12 AM

 

StuartO - 2015-06-18 9:09 AM

 

The UK National Health Service provides for UK residents while resident in UK, not including those who choose to go abroad for extended periods, yet we expect it to do so if we plan to tour abroad in a MH for an extended period. The NHS will usually provide medication for a short holiday but much longer periods are not part of the deal.

 

There are ways of coping with this, for example by consulting a doctor abroad and getting drugs as required - but of course it's much easier to try to cheat by taking a big stock of NHS-supplied stuff with you. After all you'd be taking that stuff if you stayed in UK wouldn't you?

 

But it is cheating so don't kid yourself that it isn't. And don't complain if your GP won't cheat for you, or a pharmacist won't supply drugs without a valid prescription. They are merely doing their jobs properly. If you want different deal.

 

Write to your MP to get things changed but don't moan about your NHS doctor doing his NHS job properly.

 

I disagree. May, just, be applicable to those who live abroad full time but I live in the UK and I pay taxes in the UK. Would you be happy for me to not pay tax while I am abroad?

 

In any event, in EU countries I am entitled to medical support. The amount of spport varies from country to country but it still exists. Getting a prescription filled for 3 months or so saves time, effort and confusion, not just for the recipient but for the health system in whatever country in question.

 

You don't agree with it or you have checked the facts and found them to be wrong?

 

The NHS website is a bit vague about precisely how long a period abroad you can be provided with drugs, even if your condition is stable and it makes medical sense to dispense a supply for an extended period rather than advising you to see a doctor while you are away - but three months supply of drugs seems to be the absolute limit - and only if your GP is happy that it makes good medical sense to take a supply for three months with you. Otherwise you leave the Country for an extended period and you leave the NHS behind. Your GP is even supposed to de-register you as a patient while you are away, leaving it to you to re-register when you get back.

 

So apart from some exceptions for a maximum of three months, you make your own arrangements for medication when you go abroad, paying to see a doctor and paying for medication as necessary - although you can of course benefit from whatever EU provisions might help you to reduce the cost. As I said if you don't like the rules complain to your MP, not your GP.

[Guest pelmetman]

Dave C - 2015-06-18 11:32 AM

 

When we had our narrowboat we were often away for up to six months at a time. Our doctor understood and was quite happy to give us six months worth (2 x 3 months) of prescriptions which we collected before leaving home, thus not having to seek out a chemist while away.

 

In 11 years we never had a problem with this.

 

Dave

 

Your lucky ;-) .............

 

Trying to get three months out of my quacks involves the Spanish Inquisition *-) ............It's not as though I'm a fully qualified member of the idle classes and get my drugs for free :-S .........

 

 

 

[mikejkay]

You have conveniently ignored tha fact that I pay and have paid for the NHS and the I am a British Citizen whether I am temporarily abroad or in the UK. An extension of you argument would be that pensioners should not get their pension paid when they are abroad. Furthermore, it is clear from this thread that there are no rules. Some practices show common sense while iin others there exist the bane of british life, jobsworths who are delighted to make up rules as they go along, generally to make life easier for themselves.

 

I reiterate:

 

1 I live in the UK

2 I am a British Citizen

3 I pay taxes, despite being retired, and have done so for over 50 years.

[Patricia]

mikejkay - 2015-06-18 1:17 PM

 

You have conveniently ignored tha fact that I pay and have paid for the NHS and the I am a British Citizen whether I am temporarily abroad or in the UK. An extension of you argument would be that pensioners should not get their pension paid when they are abroad. Furthermore, it is clear from this thread that there are no rules. Some practices show common sense while iin others there exist the bane of british life, jobsworths who are delighted to make up rules as they go along, generally to make life easier for themselves.

 

I reiterate:

 

1 I live in the UK

2 I am a British Citizen

3 I pay taxes, despite being retired, and have done so for over 50 years.

 

I think that if you contact the foreign office (think it was that office anyway!) they will tell you that it does not matter how long you have paid taxes etc. in the UK you have no rights after 3 months and the doctor is actually supposed to sign you off, as one poster has already said, and you have to sign on again when you return and then PAY for a consultation. I believe that pension rules are different i.e. If I went to live abroad I would still have to pay tax in the UK on my pension.

 

[Brian Kirby]

Sorry Mike, but this is not correct. Doctors are subject to guidelines, and are expected to exercise their professional judgement in how to apply the guidelines. It is foolhardy to profess that because patient A is given three months supply of a drug to accommodate their holiday, it follows that patient B should be treated the same way. Patient B is likely to be suffering from quite different medical conditions, and be on completely different drugs, and even if he were not, there may be sound medical grounds for treating him differently. One doctor may judge that in the case of a particular patient it is reasonable to prescribe three months supply of a drug at a time, and another doctor, confronted with the same patient, may decide otherwise. It is called professional judgement, and is based on the individual doctor's experience of the patient and other similar cases. We are not clones of each other, to be treated as such.

 

We tend to go for a max of three months at a time, so I spoke to my GP about extra supply, as the quantity would run out while away. The result was a further prescription for three months supply. I how put in a prescription request before leaving, which gives me sufficient for the trip, and leave the balance of the previous prescription at home so that I have a supply when we return. I then put in a prescription request for the next three months supply, and so on. But, that is me, and my doctor. I wouldn't expect everyone else to have the same experience as me.

[Patricia]

I am lucky as my surgery allows 3 months but I order my prescriptions on line then collect from the pharmacy. I came close to running out once and made inquiries about having the actual tablets posted abroad and that worked out well. My daughter collected them and posted them on.

 

If you have to buy abroad and can get them they will be cheaper. Husband's injection in the UK £350, in France €350 (eventually reimbursed).

 

Edit:

I have just read Brian's post above and would add that I always try to take a couple of weeks extra in case I am unwell and have to overstay my departure date. A few years ago I had hooping-cough would you believe (for the third time in my life!) and was really unwell and unfit to travel.

[mikejkay]

If you look back to the original post it states "never had any issues drawing three or four months supply when going away........until now. It's caused absolute chaos". StuartO chose to respond by saying "The UK National Health Service provides for UK residents while resident in UK, not including those who choose to go abroad for extended periods". As his post was a response to the original post I presumed that he meant three or four months. He also said that it was cheating to take "a big stock of NHS-supplied stuff with you" which I found extremely offensive. I suspect that there will be other members of this forum that feel likewise. I have no problem with obtaining and taking with me my drugs for three months. I do exactly what you do. (Off to Norway in two weeks time complete with three months worth). It seems that three months is a generally accepted limit. The original poster said that he used not to have a problem but this has changed, that was the point made in his post.

[Bulletguy]

Yes i should make clear this problem has only come about since the arrival of a new Pharmacist. It's also not been helped by the GP i saw 2 weeks ago not making out the prescription correctly despite him knowing why i was asking for 3 month supply....which after all was the sole purpose of my visit!

 

I've since found this which i snipped from a NHS pdf file which appears to bear out what my GP told me;

 

http://oi58.tinypic.com/4sjii1.jpg

 

Then read this; http://oi58.tinypic.com/bex8bc.jpg

 

It seems you are considered "no longer resident" if you are out of the country over 3 months which is completely bonkers. A friend of mine who had a stroke, has a heart condition and now battling cancer is on a cocktail of drugs. Him and his wife spent 15 weeks over winter in Spain. His GP issued him with the full amount and it was duly dispensed by his Pharmacist.

 

Hopefully tomorrow i will have all my medication waiting for me to pick up......but this episode has left me feeling quite angry in that it does appear not to be consistent throughout and the cynic within me can't help but think, if i paid my GP for a private prescription, i've no doubt i could have whatever amount i was willing to pay for.

 

 

[Bulletguy]

Patricia - 2015-06-18 4:35 PM

 

I think that if you contact the foreign office (think it was that office anyway!) they will tell you that it does not matter how long you have paid taxes etc. in the UK you have no rights after 3 months and the doctor is actually supposed to sign you off, as one poster has already said, and you have to sign on again when you return and then PAY for a consultation. I believe that pension rules are different i.e. If I went to live abroad I would still have to pay tax in the UK on my pension.

 

 

This is correct as regards the NHS.......which begs the question, how does a family of nine who have been Spanish resident for two years (according to their lawyer), obtain very expensive treatment courtesy of the NHS for their son Ashya King?

[Patricia]

Bulletguy - 2015-06-18 11:18 PM

 

This is correct as regards the NHS.......which begs the question, how does a family of nine who have been Spanish resident for two years (according to their lawyer), obtain very expensive treatment courtesy of the NHS for their son Ashya King?

 

When you are abroad in Europe and get treatment via your EHIC card the British government reimburses the foreign government so this applies to all people who are unfortunate to fall sick. When Europeans come to the UK their governments do the same. However, you can only claim back the same as a national of that country can claim. For instance, in France if you are over 60 you will not get medicines free as you do in the UK but will only get a percentage of the cost returned, likewise with the doctor's payment. When I had hooping-cough some blood tests were non-refundable (over £70) but at that time I sent these bills to the office in the UK and received refunds. This is no longer the case and all claims go through the French system. There are about 30 serious illnesses that medication is free but to get that dispensation is very complicated and difficult to obtain. I should get it for diabetes but have so far never managed to get the dispensation despite having a French address.

[Bulletguy]

Patricia - 2015-06-19 12:10 AM

 

Bulletguy - 2015-06-18 11:18 PM

 

This is correct as regards the NHS.......which begs the question, how does a family of nine who have been Spanish resident for two years (according to their lawyer), obtain very expensive treatment courtesy of the NHS for their son Ashya King?

 

When you are abroad in Europe and get treatment via your EHIC card the British government reimburses the foreign government so this applies to all people who are unfortunate to fall sick. When Europeans come to the UK their governments do the same. However, you can only claim back the same as a national of that country can claim. For instance, in France if you are over 60 you will not get medicines free as you do in the UK but will only get a percentage of the cost returned, likewise with the doctor's payment. When I had hooping-cough some blood tests were non-refundable (over £70) but at that time I sent these bills to the office in the UK and received refunds. This is no longer the case and all claims go through the French system. There are about 30 serious illnesses that medication is free but to get that dispensation is very complicated and difficult to obtain. I should get it for diabetes but have so far never managed to get the dispensation despite having a French address.

 

In the first post i mentioned this (bib) about a diabetic who is on insulin and she gets hers issued in one lump.....6 months at a time. This is why i say there appears to be no consistency.

 

Don't get me wrong, i've been a life long supporter of the NHS and despise the streams of 'health tourists' abusing the system, but as long as i remain UK resident and continue paying all my taxes in this country as i have done for almost 50 years, i find it ridiculous to have UK nationals 'jumping through hoops' to get more than 3 months medication whilst dishing out free medical care to the health tourists.

 

I don't have enough time left now before i leave to debate the issue out with my GP but when i come back i intend to get it thrashed out as i don't want a repeat of this nonsense next year.

[mikejkay]

Keep taking the pills :-D

[Brian Kirby]

Bulletguy - 2015-06-19 1:17 AM...........................In the first post i mentioned this (bib) about a diabetic who is on insulin and she gets hers issued in one lump.....6 months at a time. This is why i say there appears to be no consistency.

 

Don't get me wrong, i've been a life long supporter of the NHS and despise the streams of 'health tourists' abusing the system, but as long as i remain UK resident and continue paying all my taxes in this country as i have done for almost 50 years, i find it ridiculous to have UK nationals 'jumping through hoops' to get more than 3 months medication whilst dishing out free medical care to the health tourists.................

Paul, I really think you are conflating two wholly unrelated issues. How a doctor treats a patient is a matter for his/her professional judgement, guided by his/her interpretation of the prescribing guidelines. There can never be consistency in that: doctors are not automatons.

 

Whether or not the NHS funds "health tourism" is surely a completely different matter, and has nothing whatever to do with how long a supply of medication your doctor is prepared to prescribe for you.

 

It has long been the case that a) the longest period for which it is deemed desirable to prescribe drugs is three months, and b) that you are officially supposed to be de-registered if you leave the country for more than three months. However, both issues are widely interpreted with great flexibility.

 

There are sound, and quite obvious, reasons for the restrictions, and we have to find satisfactory compromises with our doctors to work around them. Your frustration is palpable, but if you lay the blame on your doctor, I fear you risk alienating the one person you need as your ally. Biting the hand that feeds? :-)