General Chat

Lloyds pharmacy are to close some of their sainsbury in store shops.

I’ve only ever used them twice. Once when I was in a hurry to get to my elderly mother and it was going to take them over an hour and on the second time they had a right old go at me for changing my address :-S. I hadn’t’, they muddled me with someone else.

So unpleasant I never used them again.

Doesn’t Scotland have anti discrimination laws ( not the one under discussion at the moment?)

Surely they are discriminating against you as a disabled person and where you are now was not your choice but you were allocated it.

I suppose that as it is not a new problem it is not seen as so important as some of the newer ones.

Well I had received 2 replies from local MSP and he posted a question in parliament and the reply was
Scotland has no plans to start postal prescription deliveries. If people live in a rural are and cannot get their prescriptions delivered, then they should make a "flu buddy" or ask neighbours and friends to get you meds for you!!!

I have replied that it did not answer the question about Scotland getting an online service.

The MSP said the reply was disappointing but there is nothing else hr can do.

I have replied and suggested that all housebound people should consider moving nearing to a town then? So when all the villages have become ghost places due to depopulation we shall know who to blame!

Oh, ty for the email and yes of course I know his name. just couldn't think off top of my head who it was!

I shall wait and see and if nothing by say end of December, I shall as they say go straight to the top lol

Florence in the Hebrides

Glad to hear you had a reply of some sort, Florence, even if not what you wanted!

Humza Yousaf is the Scottish Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care .

His email address (if you're interested!): [email protected]

Well finally I received a reply to my email from the local MSP. He apologized for the delay in replying as is extremely busy.

It was quite short and all he said was he would liase with the CEO of the Health Board and speak to the Health Care MP..whoever that is?

It is a national service not just this area, so I think he missed the point. England's online service covers all of England not just one area. He didn't respond to my comment re NS discussing this back in 2009!

So maybe in another 2-3 months I may get some feedback but I'm not holding my breath.

Florence in the Hebrides

I'm not sure what happens at my local pharmacy. :-S

It's about a 10 minute walk away. When i first came here, I gave them the prescription, then picked it up a week later.
My doctor gave me some new medication, which wasn't on the repeat prescription, which I pointed out to the pharmacist.
A week later, I picked up what was on the prescription, and was told the missing item would be there in a week.
Three days later - a knock on the door - and it was delivered!

Since then, I take my prescription to the pharmacy, and within the week, my prescription has been delivered :-D
To be fair, I would say at least half the residents in this road have their prescriptions delivered, so I suppose, one more isn't really a problem.

We’ve not opted for a specific pharmacy. If we can’t get it in the village then, if I am well I can drive to the supermarket. If I am I’ll then OH probably has to go further and into town by train as the bus to the supermarket is not that frequent and waits are different.

Not sure what is going on with our prescriptions :-S

Our system requires a repeat prescription request is posted by patient into a designated area in the GP's entrance lobby.
After it is signed off, the request is sent off electronically to whichever chemist we have requested and we can collect the medication a few days later.
The distance between GP and my chosen chemist must be less than 50 yards.

Last weekend, for the 2nd time, I noted that my medications were in a plastic bag, not as previously, when it was strong paper.
What's more, it had been dispensed at the chemist 'hub' over 30 miles away.

That's not doing much for the environment.
:-| :-0

Can hardly believe that our hopeless village pharmacy came good today. Maybe it’s because so many are now going elsewhere.

In view of the PO strikes and how little post that is getting through daily here, I am glad I don't have online prescriptions! I was speaking to our post lady yesterday and she said, priority is being given to the likes of Amazon parcels etc and not to letters or smaller packages???? Says it all!

Florence in the Hebrides

Yes Shirley, they are lovely and do an awful lot for this area. You need to be living in the catchment area to benefit from their services.

They do an awful lot that the local council should really be doing!

But if they are able to help even with a donation then it’s a win win all round

The local charity is also a local business. They do get some income from lottery grants but also, they generate income from a wind turbine which has been very successful.

So, they are financially secure. I do however get my grass cut every 2 weeks and I pay them for that service.

Maggie, local services here were cut down and then they erected a huge wooden highland cow in the town on grassland. A bronze statue of a herring girl near the harbour and various other ridiculous things that cost a fortune, could be better spent on essential services. The local bus office is not open full time, so if it's raining and you are waiting on a bus, there is nowhere to wait under cover or if you needed the loo etc... No, they reduced the hours its opened to save money.

Then last year, they decided to illuminate council buildings every night in December up to midnight!!! Hardly anyone about in town during the week at that late hour. So, what a waste of electricity and the council claim they have no money.

Why also do schools need to be lit up all night until midnight with floodlights in town and rural areas? Surely, they can have security lights that only come on when something walks past the light. With the price hike now, I wonder if the town will be all lit up this winter?

Let's not forget when our council lost 23 million in the BCCI fiasco in the 90's!
Sums it all up really doesn't it.

Florence in the Hebrides

So much of work done by politicians is hidden. They don’t like it so hav to build/open wonderful looking things or shout out, in sometimes inappropriate language, so that they get the headlines. Whilst the general public would prefer them to get on the their jobs and allocate monies fairly.

Every now and again we get the opportunity to let them know how we feel.

I have a confession to make.
My last few jobs were coding responses to 'consultations' held by Hampshire Country Council. 'Coding' is essentially, putting the responses in a series of predicted response columns on a spreadsheet.
I have to admit, if I found 3 or more people had responded in a way that wasn't on the spreadsheet, I asked for it to be added.

One of these 'consultations' was to cut funding to charities that helped the elderly.
These were 'charities' like day centres, mini-buses that took those unable to use buses, or in very rural locations, to the shops, and on outings, and charities that ran 'taxis' to take people to GP and hospital appointments. There were also charitable groups that helped those without internet access to get access to the internet etc., and those who delivered prescriptions.

Most of these charities needed funding, as their vehicles need servicing more than private cars, for insurance purposes. Also, those involved (drivers, volunteers etc) needed yearly DBS checks. I also know that about 10 years ago, Hampshire County Council started paying the mini-bus drivers, as volunteers didn't necessarily have to turn up!

Well, there were about 1,200 responses. Not bad, considering the 'consultation' wasn't advertised very well, and many older folk don't have/use the internet.
The majority were against the cuts. I would say, about 10 people agreed with the cuts - as they didn't need them - yet!

The cuts went ahead, as the result obviously meant nothing. They'd held the 'consultation', so legally could go ahead with the cuts.
This is happening all over the UK.
The Government is cutting funding to Councils year on year.
The Councils get the blame for the cuts they make, but the Councils also appear to be focussing on cutting funding to the most vulnerable.

Other 'consultations' were to cut funding to home to school transport for special needs children, and to cut funding for the homeless, and victims of domestic abuse.

During all these cuts, Hampshire County Council paid for a statue of 'Licoricia' (anyone heard of her?) to be put created, and up outside the 'library', which had been overhauled about 10 years ago and renamed 'The Discovery Centre', and in 'honour' of this statue, had been overhauled again, and renamed 'The Arc'.

With each 'transformation' the number of books in what was the library goes down.

So, you can see where Hampshire County Councils priorities lie - and it's not with the most vulnerable - and, as I said - this is happening all over the country :-|

As a Charity I would suppose they ca’t expect people to pay for the service, but wouldn’t they accept a donation to funds?

Well, my local charity has decided they will be able to collect my meds for me. They will only be going once a week not 3 times and for only people like me who are really stuck. They tel me a few days ago.
I offered to pay but they said no need and were happy to assist.

Such a relief to know, I'm all sorted.

I did not yet get a reply from my local MSP! Too busy probably fighting for IndyRef2!

Florence in the Hebrides

Oh dear names, just as well it wasn't urgent.
So I have just emailed our Local MSP and await his reply.

Watch this space!

Florence in the hebrides

OH decided to go to the village pharmacy to get his prescription filled. He wasn’t in a hurry for it.
Good thing too, as it was shut with no idea when it would open ( there was no pharmacist). Luckily he is going into town tomorrow and can get it done there.