My damned mail pharmacy has introduced an extra step. Now it's no longer enough for the doctor to write the freaking prescription; the pharmacy has decided they have to doublecheck with him/her and say "Are you SURE you want them to have this?" before they'll release the bloody meds. Which of course adds days or even weeks, as the innocent doctor has meanwhile gone off on vacation or something--or has crappy office staff. Why oh why?
Same here, as well as they, have some sort of automatic message that calls you and says the doctor has not forwarded refill after he has indeed several days ago. In one case they had even already sent it. So you annoy the poor assistant at your doctor's office every few months to ask that they do what they have already done. Then you find your prescription in that day's mail.
I did rather enjoy the time I was asked if I actually needed the quantity of needles on the list and couldn't I just get by on a couple a day when I loudly proclaimed that needle reuse was the best way to get infections, plus if I was unable to inject insulin into me a minimum of 5 times a day I would die. I do have to do a lot of the arithmetic for both pharmacy assistants and GPs.
Likewise when there was a shortfall of one of my insulins. "I will die without it, you know."
There is also a note on the pharmacist's system not to call me in for a "pharmacist's review of do I understand what my medication is for and do I really need all on my list" and in sheer frustration at the patronising tone, I tipped out the contents of my rucksack, and thoroughly explained it all.
I didn't tell them that as well as managing my own Type 1 diabetes, I'm the acknowledged preferred support for the insulin injecting students in my workplace and I have to do a significant amount of additional training every year to be able to do that.
But, don't tell them I only remember to change the needle in my lancet device when it hurts to extract blood or when a student is watching me!
There is also a note on the pharmacist's system not to call me in for a "pharmacist's review of do I understand what my medication is for and do I really need all on my list" and in sheer frustration at the patronising tone, I tipped out the contents of my rucksack, and thoroughly explained it all.
Our pharmacist is excellent, the health centre less so. We order repeat prescriptions online, and 5 working days later can collect them from the pharmacy, who will also do deliveries in cases of necessity. Mr Puzzler went to pick up his latest lot, only to find the pharmacist had not had the prescription. A visit to the health centre( not normally allowed without an inquisition, since Covid) and a dispute with the awkward admin staff , together with a demand to speak to the practice manager eventually revealed that it had not been dealt with. But it could not possibly be signed off that day, so still no guarantee that it will have been dealt with in time to be collected on Tuesday. Good job Mr Puzzler keeps at least a week’s supplies in hand.
TICTH whoever thought that 12-2 was a good time to have a university level maths exam. Admittedly it's at home under the beady eye of a web camera (photos to be supplied of our working out), but that's a very early lunch.
I feel really fortunate re prescriptions. There is a good email liaison between the Pharmacy and the medical centre. Both text me, the medical centre to say the Pharmacy has been emailed, the Pharmacy to notify me that the prescription had been made up and is ready to collect. I wouldn't mind if I had to wait at the Pharmacy because the Pharmacist's son runs a small cafe right next door called Dispense that has yummy food.
If the prescription is in response to a consultation the doctor emails it before I leave and it's usually made up by the time I get to the Pharmacy.
Our pharmacy is next door to the doctors', both very close to the house. One drops the prescription into the little postbox outside the doctors', and pick up the meds from the pharmacy a day or two later. See picture: surgery has the big doors straight ahead and building to the right; dentist is at the left, pharmacy in between (behind the tree): https://tinyurl.com/2p956ps9
At the moment, surgery and pharmacy are working well, but I do sympathise!
My CTH today is crossword setters who assume a knowledge of various, to me, completely obscure computer terms, current pop music and the game of Bridge plus a wide knowledge of Shakespeare quotes!
Our pharmacy is next door to the doctors', both very close to the house. One drops the prescription into the little postbox outside the doctors', and pick up the meds from the pharmacy a day or two later. See picture: surgery has the big doors straight ahead and building to the right; dentist is at the left, pharmacy in between (behind the tree): https://tinyurl.com/2p956ps9
Very handy! My GP surgery is a couple of hundred yards up the village street from the Pharmacy, and there is certain spot next to the latter where I can sometimes park (with my Blue Badge, of course).
At the moment, surgery and pharmacy are working well, but I do sympathise!
My CTH today is crossword setters who assume a knowledge of various, to me, completely obscure computer terms, current pop music and the game of Bridge plus a wide knowledge of Shakespeare quotes!
TICTH those setters who assume a wide knowledge of films, as well as the pop music you mention. I don't think I've come across a clue requiring a knowledge of Bridge, but happily my education did include a fair number of Shakespeare's plays (and those of his contemporaries, too).
My only knowledge of bridge comes from years of doing cryptic crosswords - expressions like "partners" or "opponents" meaning the compass points used in bridge (and I always have to stop and think about which is which).
[...] My GP surgery is a couple of hundred yards up the village street from the Pharmacy, and there is certain spot next to the latter where I can sometimes park (with my Blue Badge, of course). [...]
Have you got one of the four-wheel-drive or two-wheel drive Blue Badges? They make nifty vehicles, I hear!
With regard to my constant misadventures with FedEx, and my recent complaint to them, I received the following. I am going to put it as hidden text in case you can't be bothered. Clue: it's very wordy, and very noncommittal, and not a single one of my points is being addressed. I don't think they really care... which I wasn't expecting anyway!
Note: You need a good sense of humour when reading this. You have been warned.
Thank you for your e-mail describing the unfortunate situation.
It is with great regret that through your detailed criticism we have learnt you were not satisfied with our service. It is only from your personal view that we find out how we can optimize our service and our organizational procedures, and we can assure you that we are extremely sorry that you were given such a negative impression of our company. Please rest assured that such conduct as you described is unacceptable to us as well.
To show you that we are taking your complaint very seriously, we have investigated the matter internally.: the aim of our company is not to lose customers but rather to make them happy.
We very much regret this incident and would like to ask you to please accept our sincere apologies for the uncooperative behavior.
We know our customers expect only the best possible service from our company, and I assure you that the situation is not typical of our customer care. Although I cannot discount the negative aspects of this situation, I hope that you will choose to use our services again, confident that we can alleviate any recurring problems and provide you with the quality service you expect and deserve.
Monty Python's dirty fork restaurant sketch springs to mind!
They didn't say anything. If you ran it through that computer in Asimov's Foundation series that extracts the true meaning from a piece of writing, it would print out a blank piece of paper.
@Wesley J - that "apology" would give Boris a run for his money!
What a load of twaddle.
That's too polite and you can do better
You forget I lived in Canada for 16 years - I absorbed politeness by osmosis.
TICTH my otherwise delightful new colleague J, who decided to ask me to.print something for her just as I was about to leave the office; and also the printer, which for some inexplicable reason refused to print it, the cumulative effect being that I missed the bus.
So much for spending £10 on a taxi in the morning to get me in early so that I could leave early.
My Home Printer will either function as set up for my HP laptop, or for my oh so slow working from home laptop, but not both. Even when set up for the WFHL, it will not print on both sides properly. So now I opt to send my work to the office staff to print and post to where it needs to go. This has saved me half an hour a day of struggling, but deprived me of the need to walk to the post box, and I do need the exercise,
Insurance companies belong in hell. I was in the hospital last week, I needed to take some meds for a couple of months. The emergency room doctor sent in a prescription and the pharmacy told me my insurance company did not cover this type of drug A but would cover drug B same category. They called the hospital and someone okayed the change. So I picked it up at the cost of $500.00 with insurance. So I have been taking it for 10 days now and I go to see my primary care doctor who informs me I should never be taking this drug with my chronic kidney disease as it could make it worse. So in the meantime, the doctor and the blessed pharmacy ( who has been most helpful) are fighting with the insurance company while I have to keep taking the bad pills because suddenly stopping could cause among other things death. Not to guess what this next round of meds will cost on top of what I have paid. Given my history with pills and their side issues, I am about to refuse all treatment in the future and at 83 and take my chances. It took 3 doctors, 2 doctors assistants, 1 physical therapist, and 6 months to discover Mr. Image was falling down because of his blood pressure pills and not a brain, inner ear, eye, or heart problem.
My curse attend Argos, their customer services, and all their works. Pay for dishwasher + installation. First time I run it - no water. Appraise them of this. It'll be the fault of the DHL delivery man. Referred to manufacturers- who actually turn out to be Argos under another name (Eh?) May get engineer Monday week.
Just proves it does not have to be that way. I have long been frustrated trying to get things done via the phone when company websites are not working for me. Today I had to contact my husband's retirement medical benefits and was unable to get onto our account on their website. ( I had changed my e-mail address and forgot my password so they could not send me a link) Clearly and in large print on their website was a note that said, If you are having problems call this number. I did and they offered me a list of clearly stated things to choose from, including if you need to speak to a representative press this number. Jeff the human answered at once on the second ring and fixed my problem in less than 5 minutes. This is a very big nation wide company. So to the bottom of hell all those company phone services that take half the day trying to get any help. I now know there is no reason they can not do better.
Whoever is responsible for delivering my paper tp the newsagent. They were late yesterday, and are also late today, which means I have to go to the shop to collect it. It is as well that I can.
Le coq up extrodinaire which occurred this morning.
I was supposed to be going for a hospital appointment by ambulance, and so my carer got me onto my powered chair. After she left, the phone rang, but I couldn’t reach it. My mobile rang - it was the hospital to say that the ambulance crew hadn’t been able to get an answer from my landline, and so had cancelled the call. The only call I’d had was from the hospital. As it wasn’t my fault, I could have a phone consultation.🙂🙃🙂
I settled back in the wheelchair and started looking through the Ship, and then heard someone coming in.
It was the ambulance crew who HAD’NT rung me. I was going to ring the hospital back, but the crew reckoned they couldn’t take me in my wheelchair as it hadn’t been risk assessed. They couldn’t use my stand aid to get me back to my armchair, so I’m stuck in the wheelchair for the next few hours 😡
TICTH winter tights. Specifically the fact that although I can buy them for Dragonlet 3 with cable knit or colours other than black, it's impossible to do so for myself shopping in person this afternoon. Unfortunately quite a few of my pairs of woolly tights were acquired in the BHS closing down sale, and are starting to develop holes.
I keep getting ads on my Facebook feed for Snag tights, which appear to come in every colour of the rainbow (and every pattern imaginable), and claim to come in sizes for absolutely everybody.
I've not tried them myself; while I like the idea of properly fitting tights, they're a bit pricey, and I'm not sure I wear a skirt often enough to justify expensive tights.
I keep getting ads on my Facebook feed for Snag tights, which appear to come in every colour of the rainbow (and every pattern imaginable), and claim to come in sizes for absolutely everybody.
I've not tried them myself; while I like the idea of properly fitting tights, they're a bit pricey, and I'm not sure I wear a skirt often enough to justify expensive tights.
I would have recommended snag, but my last few pairs didn’t fit well and laddered easily, so I’m back on the hunt for good tights.
I went to the doctor today. I am so angry. I told him I was suffering some days with extreme fatigue. The first thing out of his mouth was you must be suffering from depression and I can give you some mild pills for that. Really we are starting with the woman must be depressed, give her a pill. After I assured him it was not depression, and knowing I have some medical issues, he agreed to my suggestion that perhaps some blood work was in order, to check my readings from last fall.
I empathise, the cardiologist who investigated my post-covid fast heart rate and shortness of breath in Spring 2020 decided it must be anxiety, despite me being an ex-nurse lecturer and telling her my symptoms were clearly autonomic in origin. Obviously she could only see my history of bipolar disorder. I ended up self-diagnosing myself with a well known post-viral dysautonomia which has the key symptom of increased heart rate on standing.
Man I'm tired. And that would be due to my upstairs neighbours, who were having a blazing row and by the sounds of it, knocking the furniture over at 4 o'clock in the morning.
Comments
Code-fix - Piglet, AS host
Likewise when there was a shortfall of one of my insulins. "I will die without it, you know."
There is also a note on the pharmacist's system not to call me in for a "pharmacist's review of do I understand what my medication is for and do I really need all on my list" and in sheer frustration at the patronising tone, I tipped out the contents of my rucksack, and thoroughly explained it all.
I didn't tell them that as well as managing my own Type 1 diabetes, I'm the acknowledged preferred support for the insulin injecting students in my workplace and I have to do a significant amount of additional training every year to be able to do that.
But, don't tell them I only remember to change the needle in my lancet device when it hurts to extract blood or when a student is watching me!
I love this.
If the prescription is in response to a consultation the doctor emails it before I leave and it's usually made up by the time I get to the Pharmacy.
My CTH today is crossword setters who assume a knowledge of various, to me, completely obscure computer terms, current pop music and the game of Bridge plus a wide knowledge of Shakespeare quotes!
Very handy! My GP surgery is a couple of hundred yards up the village street from the Pharmacy, and there is certain spot next to the latter where I can sometimes park (with my Blue Badge, of course).
TICTH those setters who assume a wide knowledge of films, as well as the pop music you mention. I don't think I've come across a clue requiring a knowledge of Bridge, but happily my education did include a fair number of Shakespeare's plays (and those of his contemporaries, too).
Apparently, an American WW2 general, who later became President, was one Isenhour.
I kid you not.
Have you got one of the four-wheel-drive or two-wheel drive Blue Badges? They make nifty vehicles, I hear!
(Sorry.
Note: You need a good sense of humour when reading this. You have been warned.
It is with great regret that through your detailed criticism we have learnt you were not satisfied with our service. It is only from your personal view that we find out how we can optimize our service and our organizational procedures, and we can assure you that we are extremely sorry that you were given such a negative impression of our company. Please rest assured that such conduct as you described is unacceptable to us as well.
To show you that we are taking your complaint very seriously, we have investigated the matter internally.: the aim of our company is not to lose customers but rather to make them happy.
We very much regret this incident and would like to ask you to please accept our sincere apologies for the uncooperative behavior.
We know our customers expect only the best possible service from our company, and I assure you that the situation is not typical of our customer care. Although I cannot discount the negative aspects of this situation, I hope that you will choose to use our services again, confident that we can alleviate any recurring problems and provide you with the quality service you expect and deserve.
Monty Python's dirty fork restaurant sketch springs to mind!
I'm afraid so.
Some of the other *clues* were a bit dozy, too...
What a load of twaddle.
That's too polite and you can do better
You forget I lived in Canada for 16 years - I absorbed politeness by osmosis.
TICTH my otherwise delightful new colleague J, who decided to ask me to.print something for her just as I was about to leave the office; and also the printer, which for some inexplicable reason refused to print it, the cumulative effect being that I missed the bus.
So much for spending £10 on a taxi in the morning to get me in early so that I could leave early.
They have a mind of their own. Will you need Ep**m salts?
No, I think the rubbish bin will suffice...if the Daemon continues to play up every time I want to print something Important.
You should have feigned "having all the time in the world". Mind you, it might not have been convinced!
Perhaps you could call in a Canon to exorcise it?
Was it that long!
You never drove a car in Toronto, did you?
Mercifully not!
I was supposed to be going for a hospital appointment by ambulance, and so my carer got me onto my powered chair. After she left, the phone rang, but I couldn’t reach it. My mobile rang - it was the hospital to say that the ambulance crew hadn’t been able to get an answer from my landline, and so had cancelled the call. The only call I’d had was from the hospital. As it wasn’t my fault, I could have a phone consultation.🙂🙃🙂
I settled back in the wheelchair and started looking through the Ship, and then heard someone coming in.
It was the ambulance crew who HAD’NT rung me. I was going to ring the hospital back, but the crew reckoned they couldn’t take me in my wheelchair as it hadn’t been risk assessed. They couldn’t use my stand aid to get me back to my armchair, so I’m stuck in the wheelchair for the next few hours 😡
I've not tried them myself; while I like the idea of properly fitting tights, they're a bit pricey, and I'm not sure I wear a skirt often enough to justify expensive tights.
I would have recommended snag, but my last few pairs didn’t fit well and laddered easily, so I’m back on the hunt for good tights.
(We called the police.)
(Out of interest, did the police attend?)