Overly-bureaucratic b*ll*cks

aidoh

I had to knock around to my local vet there to get some arthritis medicine for the cat.

I was told it would be "unethical" for the veterinary assistant/receptionist to give me the medicine because they couldn't find the cats prescription on their computer.
Funnily enough they had no problem finding it the last 3 times I've been up since the new year. So it's still on file - the only problem was that this particular employee couldn't personally find it.

Anyway after arguing my case and repeatedly trying to make her see how unreasonable this was (using the argument that it's surely far less ethical to let an old cat spend the night in pain than to break protocol and give me the medicine even though she couldn't find a record of the cats details) I was clearly getting nowhere and said I'd come back up tomorrow when the persons boss was in and give out stink / get the medicine.

Anyway I'm raging now. It's not as if I was looking for ketamine or something! Did she think I was going to take the feline arthritis medicine myself? Was I going to sell it on the veterinary black market for €15?

What red-tape, overly-bureaucratic b*ll*cks have you had to endure at the hands of a less than fully competent sap, good people of AH?
Did you ever win in this kind of situation or did you just, like me, have your argument eroded down by a mind-numbing "I just can't, I'm afraid" attitude?

podgemonster

There's a simple solution...

Get A Dog

wazky

You deserve it for owning a cat tbh.

Ruu

Sorry about your cat but you put that person in an awkward position. It doesn't make any difference, she had guidelines to follow and you were asking her to break them. What would her boss think of that?

emo72

Ruu wrote: »

Sorry about your cat but you put that person in an awkward position. It doesn't make any difference, she had guidelines to follow and you were asking her to break them. What would her boss think of that?

reminds me of that pharmacist that wouldnt give the adrenaline shot to the girl with the nut allergy. "computer says no" then she died.

aidoh

Ruu wrote: »

Sorry about your cat but you put that person in an awkward position. It doesn't make any difference, she had guidelines to follow and you were asking her to break them. What would her boss think of that?

I know that, but in the context of some generic medicine for a cat I think they could have sold it to me anyway.

Anyway, the only reason I wasn't sold the medicine because the employee couldn't personally find the animals details on the computer. They're definitely on there as I've gotten the same stuff from the same place loads of times. This person couldn't find it, yet it was somehow my fault!?

Hence it was very lazy "nothing I can do because I'm too lazy to look at the files more carefully", overly-bureaucratic head trip.

jellyboy

go herbal ,cook her some cookies…

aidoh

jellyboy wrote: »

go herbal ,cook her some cookies…

Too expensive around these parts!

Frosty McSnowballs

Have you tried turning the cat off and back on again?

If she gave you the wrong medicine and the cat had a reaction and it all went wrong she'd be in major trouble
Plus the poor cat

aidoh

bluewolf wrote: »

If she gave you the wrong medicine and the cat had a reaction and it all went wrong she'd be in major trouble
Plus the poor cat

Yeah I totally get that but it was purely her fault for not being able to find the details on her computer.

Plus I brought up the old box from the empty medicine (because it has a very unpalatable chemistry-ish name that I'm to thick to pronnounce).

Hootanany

Rules are rules why dont give some Whiskey

mad muffin

aidoh wrote: »

I had to knock around to my local vet there to get some arthritis medicine for the cat.

I was told it would be "unethical" for the veterinary assistant/receptionist to give me the medicine because they couldn't find the cats prescription on their computer.
Funnily enough they had no problem finding it the last 3 times I've been up since the new year. So it's still on file - the only problem was that this particular employee couldn't personally find it.

Anyway after arguing my case and repeatedly trying to make her see how unreasonable this was (using the argument that it's surely far less ethical to let an old cat spend the night in pain than to break protocol and give me the medicine even though she couldn't find a record of the cats details) I was clearly getting nowhere and said I'd come back up tomorrow when the persons boss was in and give out stink / get the medicine.

Anyway I'm raging now. It's not as if I was looking for ketamine or something! Did she think I was going to take the feline arthritis medicine myself? Was I going to sell it on the veterinary black market for €15?

What red-tape, overly-bureaucratic b*ll*cks have you had to endure at the hands of a less than fully competent sap, good people of AH?
Did you ever win in this kind of situation or did you just, like me, have your argument eroded down by a mind-numbing "I just can't, I'm afraid" attitude?

Give your cat SNIP that should give it some relief for tonight.

MOD

Medical advice be it to humans or animals is not allowed on boards. Giving an animal any type of human medicine is also a really bad idea. What an animal can take and process varies.

Legs.Eleven

Cats can get arthritis?

Tardful Slakerly II

She was possibly new to the job, so she had trouble with finding you on the system. She is going to want to be vigilant about adhering to the rules as she's only new. She's only doing her job. According to the Irish mindset everything needs to be someone's fault. :rolleyes:

Comparing this to that poor girl who died is really not on, have some cop on and don't drag the girls name into some angry BS about a cat.

Tardful Slakerly II

Legs.Eleven wrote: »

Cats can get arthritis?

And AIDS. Cat AIDS.

thecatspjs

There may have been a problem with the computer system too. I think you may be going a little hard on the receptionist. You could also be correct of course, but there is no way of knowing for sure.

shopaholic01

You can easily avoid all of this by ringing ahead and asking for it to be ready for collection. Surely a vet was in at some stage during the day? Better still, do it when you notice you are nearing the end of the current meds. Vets have protocol to follow regarding medicine, same as a pharmacist.

Pwindedd

aidoh wrote: »

I had to knock around to my local vet there to get some arthritis medicine for the cat.

I was told it would be "unethical" for the veterinary assistant/receptionist to give me the medicine because they couldn't find the cats prescription on their computer.
Funnily enough they had no problem finding it the last 3 times I've been up since the new year. So it's still on file - the only problem was that this particular employee couldn't personally find it.

Anyway after arguing my case and repeatedly trying to make her see how unreasonable this was (using the argument that it's surely far less ethical to let an old cat spend the night in pain than to break protocol and give me the medicine even though she couldn't find a record of the cats details) I was clearly getting nowhere and said I'd come back up tomorrow when the persons boss was in and give out stink / get the medicine.

Anyway I'm raging now. It's not as if I was looking for ketamine or something! Did she think I was going to take the feline arthritis medicine myself? Was I going to sell it on the veterinary black market for €15?

What red-tape, overly-bureaucratic b*ll*cks have you had to endure at the hands of a less than fully competent sap, good people of AH?
Did you ever win in this kind of situation or did you just, like me, have your argument eroded down by a mind-numbing "I just can't, I'm afraid" attitude?

I'm sorry your cat was denied their medicine. It's a shame there wasn't another employee there who could have helped you. I'm sure the assistant tried to find the prescription, but if she's new or inexperienced then she may just lack the knowledge to find it on the system. There's always the chance she may just be a complete tool, but life is full of these types and you just have to work around them as best you can.

Bureaucracy is everywhere and it's only going to get worse I'm afraid. I used to get mad, but then I adopted a zen attitude after a particularly harrowing experience in Bank of Ireland. They changed the policy on collecting bank drafts for employees of a business which meant I had to drive back to work, barge into a meeting to get more signatures and drive back to the bank. Even though I'd been collecting bank drafts in that branch for a couple of years and everyone knew me. I was like a demon. How DARE they change the policy without personally informing me.

Stay cool tomorrow, express your concern and insist that all staff know how to find customer details to avoid this in the future, lay it on thick if you like with the worry and concern for your poor cats health. But stay reasonable.

aidoh

Tardful Slakerly II wrote: »

She was possibly new to the job, so she had trouble with finding you on the system. She is going to want to be vigilant about adhering to the rules as she's only new. She's only doing her job. According to the Irish mindset everything needs to be someone's fault. :rolleyes:

Comparing this to that poor girl who died is really not on, have some cop on and don't drag the girls name into some angry BS about a cat.

This might be true, since she thought it was my fault that she couldn't find it on the computer and as a result I now have a cat in a lot of pain.

Never had to ring ahead before, so why should I have thought to now?

Alf. A. Male

You need a second opinion, get a cat scan.

robertpatterson

emo72 wrote: »

reminds me of that pharmacist that wouldnt give the adrenaline shot to the girl with the nut allergy. "computer says no" then she died.

Yeah cos a cat and a girl are the same thing in internet land.......

Jonny Blaze

Computer says no.....

Capt'n Midnight

mad muffin wrote: »

<snip>.

WTF ???

A cat weighing 2.5Kg should take the same dose of a medicine as an adult human with a far greater bodyweight ?

And Ibuprofen is toxic for cats. :mad:

the_syco

I found Sashas blend for dogs great for my Holly when she was alive It's basically oil for the bones; up until the day she died you'd never have guessed she had arthritis. Even big cats use it :eek:

corner of hells

Capt'n Midnight wrote: »

WTF ???

A cat weighing 2.5Kg should take the same dose of a medicine as an adult human with a far greater bodyweight ?

And Ibuprofen is toxic for cats. :mad:

Toxic for cats , you say .
Ain't no cat gonna **** in my garden no more .

Here. Kitty , kitty.

Cee-Jay-Cee

It's bit the employees fault, they were simply complying with the strict cata protection laws.

mad muffin

Capt'n Midnight wrote: »

WTF ???

A cat weighing 2.5Kg should take the same dose of a medicine as an adult human with a far greater bodyweight ?

And Ibuprofen is toxic for cats. :mad:

Oops…

Corruptedmorals

I highly doubt laziness came into the equation. Who wants to sit there and take abuse if the remedy is available to avoid the hassle? Nobody. A crappy situation but it's highly unlikely she was being deliberately unhelpful and there's no way she was going to risk her job by giving you the drug. You had the packet but it's not up to the receptionist to decide these things, for one they don't have the medical knowledge. If the vet was available they could probably have authorised it or of course, rewritten the script but it's too serious for admin to just do for you willy-nilly.

cml387

What a cat astrophe.


I'll get me coat.

Guy:Incognito

emo72 wrote: »

reminds me of that pharmacist that wouldnt give the adrenaline shot to the girl with the nut allergy. "computer says no" then she died.

You mean the pharmacy that wouldn't give the epipen to a woman that just wandered in off the street with no prescription and said she had a daughter that needed one? What other prescription drugs should be just handed out to people who promise they are for someone sick?

What if they had been out of the medicine?

I am pie

Dont leave it to the last minute next time, sh1t happens.

Tail Docker

Legs.Eleven wrote: »

Cats can get arthritis?

I more interested in how the cat communicated this information...Mine would need a six foot sign, witnesses and a letter from a specialist..and then I'd look for a second opinion, probably involving a shovel..

5live

thecatspjs wrote: »

There may have been a problem with the computer system too. I think you may be going a little hard on the receptionist. You could also be correct of course, but there is no way of knowing for sure.

Its fine for you to say, sitting there wrapped around your non-arthritic cat and toasty warm before the two of you go off to sleep:mad:


:pac:

IrishEyes19

you will look like an idiot if you humiliate the girl tomorrow when you go in. In all fairness, she is doing her job. If something did go wrong, or the wrong medicine was issued or anything, it would be her fault because she authorised it. So rather than causing a fuss, go in calmly ask to see the manager in charge, explain what you need and give the girl a break. I can understand you need it for your poor cat, but in fairness, she followed the correct procedure.

mcmoustache

Try a homoeopathic remedy. Grab some water from blessington lake and give her that. Plenty of arthritic skeletons are at the bottom of that lake.

The theory behind it is that "like cures like". The trick is to get the concentration low. In fact, lower is stronger. The odd arthritic finger at the bottom of the lake should be enough to make the lake's water just what the doctor ordered.

Frank Lee Midere

Good work by that receptionist. Did her job.

periodictable

Was it this lady?

mad muffin

mad muffin wrote: »

Give your cat 200mg of Ibuprofen (nurofen) that should give it some relief for tonight.

Capt'n Midnight wrote: »

WTF ???

A cat weighing 2.5Kg should take the same dose of a medicine as an adult human with a far greater bodyweight ?

And Ibuprofen is toxic for cats. :mad:

mad muffin wrote: »

Oops…

Considering your sig, that is the most (in)appropriate oopsie ever.

aidoh

Frank Lee Midere wrote: »

Good work by that receptionist. Did her job.

She didn't and that's what my problem is.

robertpatterson

Her job was to dispense the correct medicine which includes all the forms that go with it
Your name wasn't on the system for whatever reason(maybe they installed new computers)
She didn't give the medicine
She did her job

comongethappy

robertpatterson wrote: »

Her job was to dispense the correct medicine which includes all the forms that go with it
Your name wasn't on the system for whatever reason(maybe they installed new computers)
She didn't give the medicine
She did her job

Seeing as you were obviously present, could you not have vouched for the OP?

robertpatterson

comongethappy wrote: »

Seeing as you were obviously present, could you not have vouched for the OP?

What makes you think I was there?
Im only reading what the op posted
Perhaps you should do the same

comongethappy

robertpatterson wrote: »

What makes you think I was there?
Im only reading what the op posted
Perhaps you should do the same

Your so emphatically absolute in the staff member being right.

No shades of gray with you..... But as you say you weren't there, which makes absolutism pointless.

robertpatterson

comongethappy wrote: »

Your so emphatically absolute in the staff member being right.

No shades of gray with you..... But as you say you weren't there, which makes absolutism pointless.

Absolutely!!

Dravokivich

comongethappy wrote: »

Your so emphatically absolute in the staff member being right.

No shades of gray with you..... But as you say you weren't there, which makes absolutism pointless.

The only shade of grey, was that the person working there didn't seem to have any support by means of someone to contact for an issue like this, or didn't bother to. And that's not even very grey.

Adamantium

When that cat gets well...march it over to the vet


And let it blast them with piss.

sbsquarepants

Guy:Incognito wrote: »

You mean the pharmacy that wouldn't give the epipen to a woman that just wandered in off the street with no prescription and said she had a daughter that needed one? What other prescription drugs should be just handed out to people who promise they are for someone sick?

Oh, anaphalaxis is it madam, well what you'll need to do is ring your doctor, make an appointment, get your prescritption and then pop back into me, I have the pens right here we'll sort you out immediately, until then I'm afraid there's nothing I can do. Next.
Makes perfect sense.

Legs.Eleven

One thing I definitely miss about Ireland is the lack of bureaucracy and the flexibility of most people in the country. In many cases, they'll let you off "just this once" if you're nice about it. You need a form for every fecking thing in this country and you literally spend hours queuing only to be told you didn't staple something together or forgot a number off something and you have to go online and reapply for another appointment in a month's time. I'm doing my tax returns this Friday and as always, I'm ****ting it. Horrible experience. Getting set up here with a very basic level of the lingo was one of the worst experiences of my life (my life has been relatively easy, in fairness). This short film sums it up (English subtitles):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXWZ3uAEKsw




However, it's different when it comes to medication and people's/animals' health. Procedures HAVE to be followed. I see your POV but this woman would've got into trouble if she gave you that medicine without a prescription. Expecting people to put their job on the line for you is not really reasonable (although I understand your cats in pain and why you're angry). She didn't find the prescription for whatever reason but it doesn't matter; the repercussions would've been greater for her if she gave it out and something happened. You have to see it from her POV. She's only following orders.

Hope you're cat gets his meds anyway and feels better soon!

Plek Trum

Maybe next time you'll be more organised and when your arthritic cat is coming near the end of his / her monthly medications you'll be organised enough to have contacted / visited your vets in advance and will have the repeat prescription in your hand, ready to go before you run out.

Seriously - its hardly the receptionist's fault if YOU ran out of medication! If you were that concerned about poor kitty you would have been down there a few days in advance. Any problems then and you would have a day or two to resolve it before the medication ran out.

The girl did her job - you cant be handing out prescribed drugs to just anyone who wanders in, especially someone who seems quick to mouth off and blame others. If she couldn't find you in the system then you simply ask her to check it out with someone else there and call you. They should be able to cross check it against your pet's file details.

Some people just like to blame others... honestly....