Villagers waiting 40 days for medicine from Mattishall Pharmacy

Patients say the quality of service at Mattishall Pharmacy, near Dereham, has become "unacceptable" in recent months.

Earlier this week, the dispensary was forced to close for two days to "fulfil existing demand safely", with bosses stating in an open letter that a shortage of staff was the root cause.

NHS Norfolk and Waveney said the organisation was "aware of challenges" faced by Mattishall Surgery with its pharmacy, and was providing advice and support. 

Mattishall Pharmacy was recently shut for two days (Image: Newsquest)One patient, who asked not to be named, moved to the village last year and relies heavily on the local medical facility for replacement stoma bags and iron tablets. 

The woman in her 30s argued that the surgery not being on the NHS' Electronic Prescription Service (EPS) was playing a significant part in the recent disruption. 

"I put a prescription request in and 30 days later it will get approved, so you are waiting nearly 40 days to get it," she said. 

"They say seven working days is the average wait time, but my last three waits have been 26, 30 and 40 days which, to me, is not acceptable. Most people order when they have got a week's supply left. 

"This is just for iron tablets - not a difficult drug to get or something controlled. Because they aren't on the EPS, you can't go somewhere like Boots instead."

She added: "I also have a stoma and need a colostomy bag. Last time they said they couldn't give me any because it isn't something they stock on the shelf but, still, it shouldn't take 30 days.

"I have to go to the hospital instead and the bags are not as good. Not having a good-quality bag really restricts my day and what I can do."

In their letter to patients, bosses at Mattishall and Lenwade Surgeries said they had felt the need to respond to "negative social media posts" regarding pharmacy services. 

They highlighted that staff shortages had been caused by a combination of leave, sickness and recruitment difficulties.

The letter read: "We understand that some of the comments are borne out of frustration at the difficulty in accessing dispensary/pharmacy services.

"We apologise for the inconvenience this causes, and understand it creates frustration and concern for residents who face difficulties in accessing their medication and prescriptions.

"The practice has faced a number of challenges in terms of staffing shortages due to leave, sickness absence and recruitment difficulties in recent months, in addition to supply chain issues, which is impacting our ability to provide dispensary/pharmacy services safely."

Another Mattishall resident said the situation had become "a joke" and urgently needed rectifying. 

 "They [the pharmacy] just say there is nothing they can do and don't seem to care," added the 39-year-old. 

"They seem to have an issue with everyone complaining, but they don't see how it is actually impacting people. It is a safeguarding risk.

"People could genuinely die because of this; I am not over-dramatising - it is that bad."

The NHS is already facing substantial pressure this winter due to staff shortages, a lack of beds in hospitals and the cost of living crisis. 

Doctors' surgeries are also struggling, with Dereham's Theatre Royal Surgery announcing via social media this week that it was at "full capacity" and prioritising urgent calls. 

Theatre Royal Surgery in Dereham (Image: Google Street View)

Lesley Billington, who has lived in Mattishall for 12 years, said she had "never known" such severe disruption at the local pharmacy. 

She argued Mattishall did not have the necessary infrastructure to cope with hundreds of new homes in the area. 

The 64-year-old said: "Personally, I blame the fact there are so many new houses going up and they are not being accommodated with the infrastructure.

"There are people who are genuinely dying and really need their medication, but cannot get it. I would imagine the pharmacy was inundated when it reopened. 

"The staff in there are all lovely. I use it every month myself.

Explaining its part in the pharmacy's temporary closure, a spokesman for NHS Norfolk and Waveney said: "We are aware of the challenges faced by Mattishall Surgery within its dispensary and pharmacy.

"We provided advice and support to the practice to ensure general medical services continued to be delivered. Dispensary and pharmacy services were temporarily closed to resolve the backlog, and have now reopened."