On 04 Jun 2021 12:19:57 +0100 (BST), Theo
wrote:

T i m wrote:
Assuming I don't have the full login to the medical system (I think
I'm supposed to present my photo ID at my doctors to get 'signed up'
and as I don't have any I didn't take that any further ...) I may have
only been able to 'request' Boots online fulfil my prescription by
requesting authority from my doctor?

I believe the pharmacy only do what the GP tells them to do. So it's up to
the GP to push repeat prescriptions at them.

I got this from them:

"Unfortunately, we cannot complete your order at this time for one or
more of the following reasons:

* the GP has not approved your order:

o within 48 hours
o because a review of your medication may be required, or
o your prescription is not yet due"

So it looks like Boots may ping the Doctor for an 'ok' to dispatch but
that message really could outline the most extreme of conditions (from
'Give it another go' to 'you aren't getting anything till you have
jumped though all the hoops')?

It's down to the GP's system
as to how you request this - via an app, or stuffing a bit of paper in the
letter box, or whatever. The GP surgery have to approve the requests so
it's not 'push button for a year', at least IMX.

That seems to be what the reply above suggests and it may be that 1
year is up and a 'review' needed? Unfortunately that means phoning the
surgery, being on hold for 30+ mins to see if I can get a telephone
callback appointment for them to call me back to say yes you can carry
on having your tablets? ;-(

They may employ someone
who can do short-term repeats without having to defer to a doctor (eg if the
GP says 'review every 3 months' they can push the repeats for months 1 and
2 but month 3 needs the GP to confirm)

Ok. I believe I get a 'Your repeat order is due' email, if I spot it
in the spam (set as spam by Tradewinds or whoever handles VM emails).

It gets messy when you have eg prescription #1 which is renewed every 28
days and #2 every month, and they gradually get out of sync.

Understood, but this one has got to be about as simple as it gets.

So, can anyone confirm if I should be able to get at least say 1 years
worth of prescriptions delivered (monthly presumably) *without* having
to keep requesting them please?

Boots Online customer service seem worse than useless. ;-(

This is the problem. When it goes wrong (and it will) you want somebody you
can talk to who can sort it there and then and hand out the right thing,
rather than having to call-centre and then wait 3 days for the post - not
fun when you've run out of something important.

Quite. It has (and seemingly more 'of late') come to waiting for the
postman on the day I run out to get my fix. ;-(

p.s. And why the fcuk do they have to put the box of tablets, in a
plastic bag, in a box ... so big that won't go though the fairly large
letter box. And her Paracetamols must be dispatched by Amazon in boxes
big enough for a pair of shoes! ;-(

One of the online pharmacies (can't remember which) sends tablets like
paracetamol in letterbox sized packages, by dint of removing the tablets
from the box and putting the tablet foils and flattened box in a thinner
package. Truly thinking outside the box

;-)

I have wondered why that wasn't done more commonly (given many eBay
suppliers seem able to do it) but in the case of Boots Online (and
Amazon etc) they seem to go the other way? ;-(

Theo
(who is getting very fed up with the amount of cardboard Amazon generates
and having to take trips to the tip purely for that)

And there is that (more the waste of resources than any effort on my
part (our cardboard recycling collection is pretty good).

I have emailed Online CS re the packaging and get a template 'sorry'
(but no explanation about it being 'the rules' or any such) but
nothing actually changes.

If we could find out who it is breaks the packages down I'd make the
effort to give them a go (the fewer opportunities for the dog to
attack the postman the better etc). ;-)

Cheers, T i m