Dear LPG,

I am one of those people who will always need to take one pill a day to ensure that my blood pressure stays in check.   I know that I am one of millions of people that needs to do this and after some eight years of taking them and getting repeat prescriptions, I don’t really have a problem with them anymore.

We just take them don’t we, or at least we do until we are reminded that we need to see the doctor so that the medication can be reviewed.  I soon learned to use the internet to order my pills every two months and then every six months or so my request would be denied because my GP would need to check to make sure that I was still on the right dosage.  I am sure that I have not been the only person who has gone through this.

I have to admit that the system nearly always overruns in my case because I have to admit to missing roughly one of those daily little pills per fortnight on average, but the system has always caught up with me in the end. 

During the pandemic I noticed that I was receiving 50% more pills each time I made my request meaning that the control system is a bit looser, but I suppose you get used to it and accept that it is up to the GPs to check, isn’t that right?

The last time I made my request, it occurred to me that it had been a while since I had last had a review and I was prompted to check that bit of paper that you get with the pills when you pick them up at the pharmacy. 

It shows the date that the GP is supposed to review the situation and on that particular slip the date had not been reviewed.  It was just a clerical error, but I did wonder if, had I not notified the surgery, there would have been one. 

I suppose the moral of the story is that, as well as our GPs, we need to keep a check on review dates too.   I remember the pharmacists asking if I wanted the note that went with the medication when I went to pick it up, which got me wondering if some patients treat them a bit like the receipt that you can take or leave when you are offered it at the supermarket checkout.

I just want to suggest that we say yes and keep them for a while…

DM, Catford