New system is slower than old

IN the good old days, I might have to wait a day or two for my prescription to be authorised, but once it was I could collect it from my GP, take it straight to a pharmacy and generally it would be ready in 5-10 minutes.

Now the system has been automated in the interests of efficiency.

I still have to wait a day or two but allow another day to be sure it has reached the pharmacy.

When I arrive, invariably it takes five minutes to locate the prescription only then to find it has not yet been dispensed, so I still have to wait the customary 5-10 minutes. Remember, this is all in the interests of efficiency.

I have also noticed that the frequency of the pharmacy not having everything I need has increased too.

This is particularly odd as the new technology provides the opportunity to increase, not reduce the fulfilment rate, so something else is clearly going on.

OK, they will deliver it “free” but there is of course a cost somewhere and you can guarantee it is the NHS that pays.

Finally, having a nominated pharmacy is all very well, but if when I arrive there is a huge queue, I no longer have the opportunity to go elsewhere.

Remember, this is all to improve efficiency. Oh and of course customer service. PERHAPS I may be allowed to comment on two recent planning initiatives that have been reported in the paper recently.

Everyone agrees that the spare land on Holliers Walk has been an eyesore for years and is in need of redevelopment.

I would suggest that this is an ideal site for affordable housing by the local authority, perhaps in conjunction with a housing association.

The new houses near the station on Southfield Road show what is possible - an attractive development providing the sort of houses and flats that ordinary people can rent or buy. It is no good relying on private developers - they want to build four and five bedroom ‘ executive homes’ which are beyond the reach of young people and first-time buyers.

Also private developers are reluctant to build affordable housing and seem able to scale down or wriggle out of the commitment to do this.

Another major factor against the idea of a supermarket on Holliers Walk is that traffic at the Derby Road/New Buildings junction is already at capacity - how can it possibly cope with hundreds more vehicle movements a day?

Secondly there has been a proposal for a ‘railfreight hub’ on land east of Burbage and towards Sapcote/Stoney Stanton.

Surely we need another logistics park in this area like a hole in the head.

Whenever I go past Magna Park I see large boards still advertising space to let.

Also, whether we like it not, there will be a downturn in the economy after Brexit. But my main point here is that these large-scale developments very often mean a loss of good farming land.

At present we only produce about sixty per cent of our food in this country, relying on imports for the rest, sometimes bringing in goods over thousands of miles.

Many years ago I remember hearing that civil servants in the old Ministry of Agriculture had little interest in promoting British farming because it was easy and cheap to import food and other produce.

If that was ever true, it certainly won’t be in future with the possible imposition of tariffs.

It seems ridiculous that we import ninety per cent of our cut flowers.

If the Dutch and the Kenyans can use greenhouses and polytunnels then surely we can as well, or do we not have the entrepreneurs any more?

I always thought the purpose of agriculture was to produce food for the nation, but now we have a Secretary of State whose priority seems to be the promotion of hedgerows and wild flowers (not to mention re-introducing beavers to the countryside).

Of course the environment is important, but the farmers also need our support.

I don’t think they are getting this at the moment, either from government or the supermarkets. Howard Hague