There have been a number of staffing issues recently at Lloyds Pharmacy in Henfield which have led to frustration in obtaining medications and increasingly long queues. These issues have been escalated to Lloyds Executive Management and NHS Sussex by Henfield Medical Centre and Henfield Parish Council.
We are asking for action to be taken because current service levels are unacceptable, although the staff who are working at our Lloyds Branch are doing their very best working under severe pressure and we would ask everyone to be respectful to them please. If you wish to voice your concerns, please email Lloyds Head Office at customer-services@lloydspharmacy.co.uk or call 03456 003565.
In the meantime, here are some alternative options to help you obtain your medication, take pressure off Lloyds staff and reduce queue times.
For regular, or "repeat" medications which you normally request without seeing your doctor, you could explore the services of an online pharmacy. These organisations will dispense your medications from a large, centralised warehouse pharmacy and will post them to you without any additional charge. Use of these online pharmacies does actually save the NHS some money. There are several such pharmacies available - for example, PHARMACY2U, LLOYDS DIRECT, MEDEXPRESS or BOOTS. You will need to register with your chosen online pharmacy by giving your name, address, date of birth, NHS number (you can find this on any information from your doctor on a repeat prescription form) and contact details. The pharmacy will confirm your medications with your GP and will order prescriptions directly from the GP when you tell them that you need more medication. Usually, the online pharmacies will remind you when you need to order more medication. You will need to order repeats about a week before you need them to allow time for dispensing and delivery. Please note that the use of an online pharmacy is not recommended for urgent or acute illness medication because of the 5-day delivery timeline.
For a new illness or condition where medication is advised to be taken urgently (less that 5 days) then you can ask your doctor or prescriber to send your prescription electronically or via text to a pharmacy of your choice. For those who work outside of Henfield or who can travel, you may select a pharmacy outside of the village, but you should make the choice when the doctor issues the prescription and be sure to tell them where you would like to collect it. If you are already using an online pharmacy for your regular and repeat prescriptions, your doctor will effectively override that standing arrangement where urgent medication is needed to avoid the 5-day delivery issue. The medical centre has agreed to follow the protocols outlined above.
If you wish to use the local Lloyds Pharmacy on Henfield High Street for repeat medications, then please allow at least seven working days between requesting your medications and visiting Lloyds to collect them. Although the system of batch prescriptions should mean that your medications are automatically ordered, workload pressures make the experience inconsistent at the moment. You would be advised to visit the pharmacy at least a week in advance of requiring your medications to confirm that they have received the prescription from your doctor. In the event of any problems this should allow sufficient time for the prescription to be requested again, before your medication runs out. At present, Lloyds Henfield are extremely short staffed and waiting times are long, so please wear warm clothing and be prepared for queuing outside. Please be polite as the staff are doing their best under very difficult circumstances.
If you live more than 1.6km (as the crow flies) from Henfield Lloyds or any pharmacy, then you are allowed to collect your medications from the dispensary within the Medical Centre. Your medical record will need to be updated to allow this - so do have a word with the reception team if you wish them to dispense for you in the future. To find other pharmacies and their contact information, please visit the NHS website.
If you need help setting up an account with an online pharmacy, then we suggest a visit to Henfield Computer Club who have offered to help. They meet in the Henfield Hall Garden Room every Wednesday between 10am & 12pm.
Malcolm Eastwood, Chairman, Henfield Parish Council