Couriers a warning

Over the last year, I've had monthly prescriptions (packed in ice with appropriate "chilly penguin" stickers) delivered by Royal Mail.

The one time there was any c*ck-up, it was mine ... I thought I'd got the measure of the driver's regular route and had time to nip out, when of course he then arrived at the start rather than end of the delivery window.

Single incident probably about to be resolved.

There is no 'brand quality' any more. It depends entirely on the person doing the delivery.

After posting, I wondered whether using dedicated pharmacies like Lloyds, Boots, Pharmacy2u, Well, RXLive, or one of the several others, might be 'better'. There are two possible reasons for delaying the choice: i) someone has to be at home and ii) my bi-monthly requirements are not always the same otherwise there can be a build up of medicines that I have not needed in that particular time span. With the current arrangement I order a week in advance with my specific requirements (then collect when shopping at the supermarket pharmacy). I know it works at the mo' but looking to the days when I can no longer get around.

Rather than going online, could your local pharmacy / pharmacist not assist with this? I prefer to 'shop local' rather than online. 'Use it or lose it' and all that.

Our pharmacy is always being out of stock of something / having to issue a partial prescription and backorder the rest / go back to the GP to request a variation based on what's available. Luckily the pharmacy and the GP are in the same building so this is easy (although the pharmacy is only open M-F and surgery prescriptions person is only there M-F mornings).

I dread to think what would happen if this was instead some faceless corporation and you'd be stuck on 'your call is important to us' for half an hour each time, and then a wait for a few days for a delivery. Not so good if you have run out of something it is dangerous to stop taking.

At the very least, if there is no stock they can give you a paper prescription and you can then try other local pharmacies.

Theo

Apart from the first reply praising Royal Mail, I was looking for recommendations from those who have found one they are happy with.

Mine was Pharmacy2U, they always dispatched at consistent time of evening, it always got to Northampton, then Leicester at same times, and gave a delivery window that was usually optimistic.

I would not trust Royal Mail with my prescriptions. We use a local pharmacy who deliver via van. Most places have one.

Dave

Once they have honest knowledgeable couriers they are all good.

I had to complain against Evri. They sacked the driver and I got my old reliable MAW (midl;e aged woman) back.

I use Pharmacy2U. I order my renewal on the surgery or NHS web sites and about a week later it arrives by Royal Mail. In the past couple of years they have always delivered exactly what I ordered.

If they had run out of anything I could wander down to Tesco and phone my GP to get an emergency prescription in a few minutes.

I thought about this, but you have to be home, and available, whenever they try to deliver and sod's law says they will call at a moment of maximum inconvenience. On balance, the walk down (and I do mean _down_) into the village to collect from the pharmacy, and back up (ditto _up_) again gives me some needed exercise and avoids that problem.

Pharmacy2U no longer require a signature on delivery, so you can name a safe place/neighbour

Are you sure that's true for controlled medicines (such as morphine and similar narcotic analgesics)?

I wouldn't know about "controlled medicines" but certainly for "prescription only medication", the email notifying of the changes didn't say any more than it was now possible ...

Royal Mail are definitely not reliable. My ongoing problem is that I get an (automated) email saying something will be delivered today but often turns up 1 or two days later. I've had "tracked 24" packages being stuck in their sorting hubs for 10 days. My post turns up in batches. I'm aware that my local RM distribution centre has serious staff shortages and a high turnover of new starters. Where friends of mine live in a different part of the country they socialise with the local postman and have found situation is much the same. The local centre has a ongoing problem trying to fill the 30% shortfall in staff. Most of the existing postmen are close to retirement age. It is a rural area and involve possibly a 50 mile delivery round, not easy to learn.

I had a look on their website, and at

"Controlled drugs - These must be sent using a tracked service and will require a signature. If you’re not home, Royal Mail will leave a card so you can rearrange delivery or collect from the depot."

My local courier for Evri strikes again (if it's the same one as I noted here just over a month ago in the "OT: More Courier Hell" thread). I got an email this afternoon stating delivery would be between 1900 and 2100. At 2115 I went outside (in the rain) to see if it had been left on the drive as before, but it hadn't. Just after 2130 I got an email stating it had been delivered. It wasn't at the front door, but on the drive again. The cardboard box was wet, and the rain had got inside, but fortunately there were polythene packs inside and it didn't matter if they got wet.

As before, the photo of the delivered package was not of my box, and it was not my front door.