Mrs.Pharamaceutical Jobsworth

Standard Notice to Protect Staff

I'm in a pretty upbeat mood today, the sun is shining and later I'm going for lunch and to the cinema. So I don't really feel much like slagging anyone off, either in formal philosophical mode or even petty digs.  Except, I remembered how mad I was around a month ago when I went to the doc's and had to collect my prescription. This is another classic Jobsworth moment and another black mark against human nature.

My prescription is never ready on time. This has been the case for the two years I have been here. The pharmacy next door to the doc's is a Lloyds and quite small so it's probably somewhat oversubscribed. I am always patient but irritated that every two months I must expect three days without my small but essential amount of medication.

My prescription wasn't there but that's what I expected.

The counter at Lloyds is quite high and stacked with with products; there is just a short reception counter in the corner. Between that and the high counter is a space for staff to move from office to shop and back again.

So the woman takes my prescription, passes it to a member of staff who then goes to her laptop, balanced precariously on top and with the lid up. All I can see is her forehead.

Like many people my age I am a little hard-of-hearing. I hasten to add this does not mean unintelligent. I don't need people to shout at me. (Volume isn't the problem.) Nor do they need to speak very slowly. It's my hearing that's faulty, not my brain!

I can't hear her speaking to me. I slip into the little gap between counter and front desk to try to hear her and ask her what the problem is and when my medication will be available. Another staff member comes along and I step outside to make room for her to pass.

The woman on the computer is taking a long time. I still can't hear her. The sound is blocked by the lid of the computer and because I can't see her, I am unable to lipread. I go to the gap again, anxiously trying to find out what I have to do, how long I must wait. The manageress says, "Would you move back into the shop please."  (It's not a question but a command, which is why I haven't put a question mark.)

I explain I am just trying to sort out my prescription, but I withdraw back into the shop area and out of earshot. The woman behind the computer starts talking at me. I can't understand her. I ask her to repeat herself.

She should come into the shop to speak to me face to face, but she's not going to. So I ask her to repeat herself several times, and so she shouts.

I am still not sure what she said, but I give up.

I took the bus into the village and asked Boots the Chemist if they would take over my prescription. The woman serving was so very nice after the Lloyds woman. She didn't hide behind a counter, didn't make me feel in the way, explained the procedure, told me how to change my prescription routine. I wasn't rushed because there was a queue behind me.

I wish I'd walked out on Lloyds two years ago. Ironically enough they have a notice on their wall asking patients not to be rude to their staff.

That should work both ways, don't you think?