East Ayrshire patients who have experienced problems with a GP repeat prescription service are being urged to call a special ‘hotline’ number.
Ayrshire Live has previously flagged up issues with the service at the Lloyds pharmacies in both Cumnock and New Cumnock.
Now the company that owns Lloyds Pharmacies (McKesson UK) has issued a number to call if patients experience any more grief.
Back in June, Ayrshire Live told how a campaigner for better NHS services labelled the new GP prescription service in the towns as 'not good enough'.
Rab Wilson said he encountered major issues when he tried to pick up his medication from a Lloyds Pharmacy outlet in New Cumnock.
Mr Wilson is a leading figure in the Action for Safe and Accountable People’s NHS (ASAP) campaign group.
However, he claimed that he was forced to make five separate trips to his pharmacy in one week to chase up missing medication.
He warned the issues could have “life-threatening consequences” to those who rely on their weekly prescriptions.
And SNP MSP for Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley, Elena Whitham, also waded into the row.
She wrote to the firm’s parent company to highlight growing waits, meds going missing and long queues outside the pharmacy at the Townhead Street outlet in Cumnock.
Now it seems an 'outdated' and 'unreliable' IT system lies at the heart of the problems.
There are two Lloyds pharmacies in Cumnock, one in Auchinleck and one in New Cumnock.
Jodie Freeborn, a professional standards pharmacist, who works for the Superintendent’s Department at Lloyds Pharmacy head office, said: “The previous dispensary IT system was 25 years old and not stable, as such this was causing issues and the system had become unreliable.
“The new dispensing system is more of a digital platform and allows for better management of the services we offer, and the medication needs of our patients.
“This, however, has slowed down pharmacy operations as onboarding and using a new system takes time.”
Ms Freeborn also said that the firm would welcome any patient to contact them directly to discuss any issues they have experienced and they would seek to “resolve accordingly.”
Ms Freeborn added: “I would like to apologise for the inconvenience that has been caused by this matter.”
Mr Wilson said he was “surprised to learn” that Lloyds were working with an unstable IT system that had not been updated for a quarter of a century.
He added: “Let’s hope that any glitches in the new system are soon ironed out and that the people of East Ayrshire will cease to have issues when collecting their prescriptions.”
Patients who are still experiencing problems are being urged to call 0345 600 3565 (option 2).
Don't miss the latest Ayrshire headlines – sign up to our free daily newsletter here
