19
Jun 2024
Pharmacy to stop providing pill organiser boxes in Knaresborough and Harrogate
A resident has raised concerns about a Knaresborough pharmacy no longer administering pill organiser boxes for prescriptions.
Pharmacy Plus Health, on Knaresborough High Street, has decided to stop supplying patients with dosette boxes.
A dosette box (pictured above) is a container with different compartments for each day of the week. Pharmacists put tablets into individual boxes to so people know which ones to take and when.
Pharmacy Plus Health is implementing the change across its other branches, which include Station Parade and Knaresborough Road in Harrogate, as well as Knaresborough High Street.
A woman who lives in Knaresborough and asked to remain anonymous, told the Stray Ferret the change means she will be responsible for safely administering 510 tablets for her husband each month.
She said:
My husband was told on June 6 by the pharmacist at Pharmacy Plus Health that no dosette boxes would be available the next time he collected his medication on July 4.
I have since spoken to the pharmacist who explained it was due to costs.
The woman told the Stray Ferret she was “very concerned” about how it will affect both her personally and other, more vulnerable people.
This could strip people of their independence or risk incorrect administration of their medication.
I’ve been advised that some online pharmacies provide ‘pouches’ of medication but that is not appropriate to our situation. I’m also told some pharmacies will provide dosette boxes at a cost, but I don’t know which pharmacies are offering this service as I’ve decided to do it myself – at least initially.
‘Hugely time consuming to fulfil’
The Stray Ferret approached Pharmacy Plus Health, which has several branches across the UK, about the move.
We asked if it was definitely going ahead, as well as what alternatives are to be put in place.
A spokesperson today said:
To ensure we can remain open as a local pharmacy, Pharmacy Plus Health has made the decision to restrict provision of monitored dosette system (MDS).
MDS dispensing does not bring any additional NHS funding, whilst being hugely time consuming to fulfil.
Reduced real-world funding and increasing costs mean pharmacies across England are losing money dispensing many of the NHS prescriptions patients need before this additional time is spent.
This lack of funding, unchanged since 2019, has resulted in increasing numbers of community pharmacies closing, currently at about ten per week.
The spokesperson cited Care Quality Commission guidance, which states MDS "should not be the first-choice intervention to help people manage their medicines”.
Original pack dispensing is “optimal and valid for most patients”, it added.
The spokesperson continued:
It gives drug stability benefits and carries a very low risk of dosage errors.
For patients where their assessment identifies that there is a continuing, justified and clinical requirement for MDS, we will be asking them to request seven-day prescriptions from their GP.
It is a decision for each company to make in light of the funding crisis. The key point is that there is no separate funding from the NHS for dosette.
Pharmacies were effectively doing this service for free for many years, but now cannot afford to as the fixed core dispensing remuneration (the prescription fee the patient pays) has been overtaken by staff/energy/rent/drug costs.
The roll-out has already begun, the spokesperson said, but did not provide a timeframe for local branches.
'Not an ICB decision'
The Stray Ferret contacted the Humberside and North Yorkshire Integrated Care Board, which is responsible for planning the area's health needs, about the move.
A spokesperson said:
This is not an ICB decision.
Dosette boxes are not always available for free on the NHS and they're not suitable for every type of medicine. These can be provided on a discretionary basis by pharmacists, but only when deemed essential and appropriate to an individual’s circumstances.
Other types of medicine reminders, such as automated dispensers, specially labelled packets and smartphone apps, are also available.
People who need additional support to help them continue to be independent should discuss their individual circumstances with their pharmacy or request a medicines review from their GP practice.
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