Well there's a thing

[bunn]

I seem to remember complaining idly that because I have very mild asthma, I must take up time regularly at the local NHS clinic, which I am sure has better things to do with its time than assign an asthma nurse to have this conversation with me:

Asthma Nurse: So, still have asthma?
Me: Yup. Tiny bit.
AN : 'blow in to this'
Me: *BLOWS*
AN: wow, that's... a lot of blowing.
Me: *sheepishly, feeling like an imposter* yes, I don't have asthma *most* of the time. Only if I get hayfever.  (actually, also sometimes if I get drunk, but I have stopped mentioning that to nurses because they give you this reproachful 'well, don't get drunk then' look, which makes me feel guilty if I have more than one beer. )
AN: *correctly identifying a touch of Imposter Syndrome* Well, Asthma is Serious, so you must Take it Seriously.
Me: OK
AN: here's a prescription.
Me: must return in three days when the in-surgery pharmacy has moved piece of paper A into basket B.

Turns out, there is an opt-out on this now.  You can fill in an online form at Superdrug, which apparently waves it past a doctor in some way, and then they post out your drugs to you.  It seems somehow wrong (do people conspire to get ventolin that they don't actually need?  Maybe they do)   But awful convenient. :-D 

Comments

[torkell]

and then they post out your drugs to you

Or rather, "and then they epically fail to post out your drugs to you". A relative is on some obscure drug that pharmacists don't stock and so has two ways to obtain it: get it delivered by courier, or take a day off to trundle up to London and get it direct from the hospital. I think the courier has managed maybe one successful delivery over the past year.

[bunn.livejournal.com]

I used to buy drugs for my elderly dogs online: fingers crossed that the dispensing of common human drugs will prove as efficient as dog-medicine.

[timetiger.livejournal.com]

Hurray for common sense!