Charles Flynn Posted January 22, 2006 Share Posted January 22, 2006 It is obvious that many of the problems are because we are dealing with stressed people - doctors, receptionists, pharmacists and particularly patients are all under considerable pressure. The NHS service does have problems. It is about time on this Island that the patients started to have more clout and sent their complaints direct to the Health Minister for him to set up a forum between the parties to sort this out. Of course with pressure now being put on resources he will probably not want this to happen. I think the issue is more the Health Minister has to come clean with his Tynwald colleagues and say "£x is the sum of money that the DHSS needs to deliver all the services that the public want and if £Y is all that Tynwald is able (or prepared) to give to the DHSS then here is list of services that can be provided for this sum and the list of those we cannot" At least it would be more honest than the way than it appears at present and we would all know what we were getting rather than at present which is becoming increasingly difficult to ascertain. The UK has moved to "patient centric care" which gives greater input from lay people and focuses on "customer needs", encouraging their involvement, but the implications here are probably too worrying (particularly in an election year) to give us a say - Goodneess, that would be democracy and we can't be having that can we I totally agree with you. The service is for patients not for the convenience and profit of the professionals If the NHS is a priority which it is it must be funded to satisfy the realistic reasonable needs of the people. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles Flynn Posted January 22, 2006 Share Posted January 22, 2006 Galen, You are obviously aware that all pharmacists, not just some, have to dispense with accuracy and also with civility and professionalism or they will not be pharmacists for long. Dispensers, chemists, pharmacists - the name has changed over the years, are always picking up the mistakes and errors of the prescriber and we should all be thankful for this small service to mankind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Educa Posted January 22, 2006 Share Posted January 22, 2006 Educa This was not a personal attack on the staff at Snaefell, Sorry I didn't mean to imply that - sorry for confusion. But what I meant was, that the new system has greatly improved the service they now provide, well from my experience that is. I now find that when you ring you are guaranteed an appointment same day, whereas before it could have been several days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Galen Posted January 22, 2006 Share Posted January 22, 2006 Galen, You are obviously aware that all pharmacists, not just some, have to dispense with accuracy and also with civility and professionalism or they will not be pharmacists for long. Dispensers, chemists, pharmacists - the name has changed over the years, are always picking up the mistakes and errors of the prescriber and we should all be thankful for this small service to mankind. Which presumably prompts the question why with this humanitarian pursuit, do some of this august professional body decide to extend their role and enter politics? - is it because they see it as an extension to their existing role by serving mankind in yet another way? Goodness knows how they are able to keep up to date with their continuing professional development (CPD), constituency matters and run the Island simulateously - assuming of course that they are not running a pharmacy as well! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles Flynn Posted January 22, 2006 Share Posted January 22, 2006 Galen, You are obviously aware that all pharmacists, not just some, have to dispense with accuracy and also with civility and professionalism or they will not be pharmacists for long. Dispensers, chemists, pharmacists - the name has changed over the years, are always picking up the mistakes and errors of the prescriber and we should all be thankful for this small service to mankind. Which presumably prompts the question why with this humanitarian pursuit, do some of this august professional body decide to extend their role and enter politics? - is it because they see it as an extension to their existing role by serving mankind in yet another way? Goodness knows how they are able to keep up to date with their continuing professional development (CPD), constituency matters and run the Island simulateously - assuming of course that they are not running a pharmacy as well! Good question. You'll have to ask Messrs Corkill, Singer and Rodan. In case you are wondering about my interests I do not work in pharmacy at all although I do attend the CPD meetings and I am up to date with new developments. I believe I am the only non working pharmacists who does do this on the island. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Galen Posted January 22, 2006 Share Posted January 22, 2006 Galen, You are obviously aware that all pharmacists, not just some, have to dispense with accuracy and also with civility and professionalism or they will not be pharmacists for long. Dispensers, chemists, pharmacists - the name has changed over the years, are always picking up the mistakes and errors of the prescriber and we should all be thankful for this small service to mankind. Which presumably prompts the question why with this humanitarian pursuit, do some of this august professional body decide to extend their role and enter politics? - is it because they see it as an extension to their existing role by serving mankind in yet another way? Goodness knows how they are able to keep up to date with their continuing professional development (CPD), constituency matters and run the Island simulateously - assuming of course that they are not running a pharmacy as well! Good question. You'll have to ask Messrs Corkill, Singer and Rodan. In case you are wondering about my interests I do not work in pharmacy at all although I do attend the CPD meetings and I am up to date with new developments. I believe I am the only non working pharmacists who does do this on the island. Actually I wasn't quering your CPD - more just reflecting on your assertions about pharmacists, particularly given that 3 are now in politics and thus our manx society is currently denuded of this misionary group - what a position to be in! B) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caringwife Posted January 22, 2006 Share Posted January 22, 2006 Galen, You are obviously aware that all pharmacists, not just some, have to dispense with accuracy and also with civility and professionalism or they will not be pharmacists for long. Dispensers, chemists, pharmacists - the name has changed over the years, are always picking up the mistakes and errors of the prescriber and we should all be thankful for this small service to mankind. So the pharmacist who gave me the wrong script, wasnt civil, professional or accurate but kept their job as there is no way of complaining about a pharmacist. It wasnt a mistake of the presciber, it was their mistake completely. They just couldnt be bothered to read my typed script properly and used the computer records of someone else with the same name. So how many times will this happen before someone dies as a result of taking the wrong medication? I simply got told that mistakes do happen but that is no excuse whatsoever. If i had been allowed home with that medication with my name on it (although it was meant for someone else of the same name), taken it believing it was mine and died, who would get the blame? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles Flynn Posted January 22, 2006 Share Posted January 22, 2006 Galen, You are obviously aware that all pharmacists, not just some, have to dispense with accuracy and also with civility and professionalism or they will not be pharmacists for long. Dispensers, chemists, pharmacists - the name has changed over the years, are always picking up the mistakes and errors of the prescriber and we should all be thankful for this small service to mankind. So the pharmacist who gave me the wrong script, wasnt civil, professional or accurate but kept their job as there is no way of complaining about a pharmacist. It wasnt a mistake of the presciber, it was their mistake completely. They just couldnt be bothered to read my typed script properly and used the computer records of someone else with the same name. So how many times will this happen before someone dies as a result of taking the wrong medication? I simply got told that mistakes do happen but that is no excuse whatsoever. If i had been allowed home with that medication with my name on it (although it was meant for someone else of the same name), taken it believing it was mine and died, who would get the blame? Caringwife, I do not know the circumstances of this matter. It is however true that in all walks of life mistakes, misunderstandings happen. I presume your address was clearly on the script. If so and you had used this pharmacy before, then the address should have identified the prescription was not yours. Patients sometimes get the wrong prescription from the doctor. I have known doctors in the past leave a load of prescriptions out on the porch for patients to collect! All sorts of things can go wrong when you are busy but an apology is usually very helpful even if you feel you are not wrong! If you believe you haven't been treated properly and you had given the pharmacist an opportunity to explain, apologise or whatever is needed you can take your complaint to the DHSS who will set in motion a complaints procedure to see if the pharmacist is at fault. If found culpable, the pharmacist, or the pharmacy business where the script was dispensed can have appropriate action taken against them - usually a reprimand or a fine. If the matter is really serious it can be reported to the Statutory Committee, Royal Pharmaceutical Society, Lambeth, London for further consideration. The Society takes these matters very seriously indeed. Mitigation is taken into account - for instance provided the pharmacist did everything within his/her power to correct the error and apologised no further action would be likely to be taken provided it was a first offence. I hope this is helpful. Galen, As for the missionary pharmacists - I think they must be working very hard indeed to keep up to date. Probably they feel that they must keep in touch with their profession and their customers, and also perhaps leave the door open to return to pharmacy full time if their political career ends. People in other walks of life not just pharmacists also keep in contact with their profession. Certainly the three political pharmacists spent many years full time in pharmacy before they embarked on a career in Tynwald. This would stand them in good stead and give them a good understanding of the problems of ordinary people. Even Galen had several strings to his bow! Everyone is entitled to move on if they want to. However they are the exception. Most pharmacists I know love their job and wouldn't even consider such a move. Bit it is a job which can be extremely stressful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Galen Posted January 25, 2006 Share Posted January 25, 2006 In case you are wondering about my interests I do not work in pharmacy at all although I do attend the CPD meetings and I am up to date with new developments. I believe I am the only non working pharmacists who does do this on the island. Interestingly, I understand you missed Monday's (23rd Jan) CPD meeting on pain - given your own political indications I would have thought this would be essential to understand what remedies are available to the recipients of politics - a point perhaps missed by the 3 pharmaceutical MHKs (also not present at the CPD meeting) - puts a new spin on the old pharma chestnut of "1 to be taken three times a day!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles Flynn Posted January 25, 2006 Share Posted January 25, 2006 A very revealing observation on your part. Nice to be missed at a private CPD meeting and have it broadcast to the world. I think I will apply for the next Big Brother programme so that you can get your information first hand. I sent my apologies for absence at this meeting which of course I was under no obligation to attend. However I would certainly have been there if I hadn't had to host at my house an Anglican Readers Board meeting for the Diocese of Sodor and Man on the 23rd. I am the Treasurer and I am also on the Church of Englands Central Readers Council as an Executive Member in the UK so this is my top priority nowadays not pharmacy. It broadens the perspective with another caring profession and if by any chance I do go into Manx politics, which is by no means certain, should provide me with a good understanding how the vulnerable and underprivileged live and how their needs can be met. I am very busy with commitments in a number of areas - pharmacy being just one. I cannot be at two meetings held on the same night so I have to prioritise. It is not compulsory for pharmacists who are on the active register to attend all CPD meeting or indeed attend any provided they keep up to date in their own way. I attend perhaps 90% of them which I submit is as high as anyone even though I haven't worked in pharmacy for eight years. However I am doing it not for financial gain but to keep in touch with my old profession and my pharmacist colleagues for whom I have a very high regard. However I have still to see one of the MHK's who do work in pharmacy attend any CPD meeting presumably because they are doing their CPD in a way which suits their political and work duties. The usual attendance at a CPD meeting is less than 20 out of about 100 pharmacists - both active and retired- on the Island I think I do rather well particularly as I have no financial interest or work commitments in pharmacy unlike the three MHK's - two of whom do occasional work and one of whom has an interest in a pharmacy business. Mr Rodan, the Minister of Health, will be attending the pharmacists AGM on the 2nd February as our main speaker. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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