32. Guy's Hospital Pharmacy

Wednesday 22nd, 5:00 PM

Guy's Hospital Pharmacy...

Absolutely FUCKING appalling !

I'm still in a considerable amount of discomfort, shuffling along like a decrepit old man, labored breathing, groaning, moaning and grumbling. Jo leaves me in the entrance hall of the hospital while she goes to the pharmacy, and just to be clear this is Guy's Hospital's own in house pharmacy, not some random on on the high street.

She returns at 5:15 with the receipt / counterfoil for the prescription for "pain relief medication and sedatives". The info display in the pharmacy is quoting the average waiting time of "38 Minutes".

At 5:40 Jo sets off, back to the Pharmacy. The receipt / counter foil is marked as "5:13" it's not quite been half an hour yet, but they may have been already been able to fill in the prescription.

5 minutes later she returns, in tears, distressed and in a fluster. The pharmacy staff are "refusing" to let her back in to collect the prescription. There's a girl working behind the counter and a couple chaps who seem to be waiting for their prescriptions filled. Jo has made eye contact with her through the glass and knocked on the door, one of the chaps waiting has asked her "shall I open the door and let her in ?" and she shook her head and said "No !" Jo knocked some more and waved the receipt / counterfoil at her through the glass of the door and she just she shook her head again and carried on with whatever she was doing. She didn't ever venture out from behind the counter and have the common courtesy to even explain to Jo what the issue was and how she might be able to circumnavigate it.

So here I am propped against the wall in the entrance hall of Guys hospital, in a significant amount of pain with my prescription for 'pain relief and sedatives' on the other side of a locked door.

Jo gets on the phone the Acute Oncology 24 hour help line. I have an uncanny flash of inspiration and shuffle off back to Oncology Outpatients Clinic in the vain hope that even if Dr Teresa is not there then someone who can help might be. 

She's there, Dr Teresa is still in her consultation room chatting to one of her colleges, another Teresa. She asks "what's wrong and what am I doing back there ?" I explain the situation, then I explain it again. I have to explain what has happened 3 or 4 times before the two Teresas finally comprehend what the pharmacy has done.

The two then had a hurried discussion about what Dr Teresa had prescribed for me, unfortunately the 2nd Teresa had no Co-Codamol "upstairs" then she declared "I've got a set of keys, come with me and I'll open up the pharmacy myself and get your prescription" and off she marched and off I shuffled after her. I had to call to her to "go on with out me, I'll catch you up". I didn't. I stopped at the entrance hall brought Jo up to speed and sent her off after Teresa No 2. Jo returned 10 minutes later with my entire prescription fully made out and a look of relief on her face. By now the morphine is starting to ware off so I took a couple of co-codamol there & then for the journey back home.

I haven't had a chance to thank both the Teresas yet, but I'm going to.

I think I'll be writing a fairly strongly worded letter of complaint to Guy's about their Pharmacy.