I had my annual medication review at my doctor’s yesterday.
I survived the bloke who coughed all over me in the waiting room as he read a leaflet about the flu jab pinned to the notice board above my head (no hankie, yuk).
And the toddler who toddled in my direction, licking snot from his nose in tandem with every step, eyes fixed eerily in my direction,a mangled teddy in his hands.
The doctor was lovely. We rearranged my prescription, I waited for it to be printed off and I left,relieved that it would be another year til I was there again.
Buoyed up with the ‘how easy was that?’ sensation, I parked outside the chemist to pick up my repeat prescription.
Big mistake. Huuuuuuge mistake.
The chemist is tiny. Opening the door, I counted eight people standing around waiting. I clutched my prescription, desperately seeking someone who would take it from me. Finally, a woman made her way through the crowd, plucked it from my hand and peered at it.
‘Oh! A change of prescription. Let’s see.’
(I’m slowly slinking backwards into the wall of decongestants)
‘Address?’
I gave it. And my date birth. And my favourite TV shows.
‘Ah. I see you’re still on the BLADDER medication. Yes?’
(the assembled congregation are leaning forward, eagerly anticipating my answer) ‘Um, yup, if that’s ok, thank you very much.’
‘And the…let me see… NERVES?’
(wilts in corner, dying ever so slightly). ‘Not nerves, neuropathic (whispers) MS’.
‘AHHHHH.’
(she peers over her glasses, looks me up and down, as do the assembled crowd).
‘Now. What about THIS one?’
‘Um.’
I scribble my signature on the repeat prescription and joke with the woman next to me, ‘haha, being ill is like a full-time job.’ Lol.
She stared at me, devoid of any compassion, no doubt thinking back to the Benefits Row special live on Channel 5 the previous night.
I turned and absorbed myself in the Peppa Pig display, wondering if I should buy some bubble bath, just to look….normal.
Finally, I was rescued. A bag of medicine was thrust into my hands.
I fled.
I love chemists. They helped me through The Nit Crisis (not me, The Teenager, when he was The Child) . They were there when I needed cough medicine. But confidentiality?
Well. My name is Stumbling, and I take bladder medication…
Oh yes! Why oh why do they do that? Perhaps seeing us squirm makes them feel powerful. More likely though it is that they deal with prescriptions all day and become desensitized to it all. Either way it’s not pleasant that’s for sure.
I think it’s a bit of both, lol. I was stunned when she announced to everyone all the meds I take. Cringe-worthy. AND I forgot to buy the Peppa Pig Bathtime Bubbles pack. Don’t know which is worse!
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o.0 makes me glad the pharmacy i use doesn’t do that, I think I would freak out on them if they did :/ I’m in there a lot, their usual pharmacist know who i am, and ask how i am, its nice 🙂
and um what ever happened to confidentiality?
Totally agree! I think she was showing off some half-baked knowledge or playing to the crowd. Or just having a bad day. I couldn’t believe she did that. I’m getting my mum to pick them up from now on, lol.
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AAAAAARGH!!!! That is the *worst* pharmacist EVER! I hope you have an alternative to take your custom to and I hope you tell them why.
I was a nurse before the Multiple Silliness and I can tell you that sort of behaviour fro a health “professional” is deserving of a serious reprimand if reported.
Grrrrr….Mumble. Spit. Grrr.
Must admit, I was pretty shocked. Just wanted the ground to open up and swallow me.
Similar thing happened with a doctor’s receptionist a couple of months ago. When I called to book an appointment, she ‘diagnosed’ my problem over the phone. That time, I did put in a complaint as she stopped me seeing the person I needed to.
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I’m laughing and shaking my head at the same time. HATE it when the pharmacist chirps out the name of the meds. No need, madam, to list them all; I can read the receipt!!
Peppa Pig? What on earth? Must Google at once!
You haven’t heard of Peppa Pig?? Oh my. My boss (unbelievably) is obsessed with that darned pig. I bought him a personalised book for Christmas last year.
He also likes Grumpy Cat. See what I’ve got to work with?!
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