We attended their pharmacy in Arlington Road, Eastbourne to get the flu vaccine. This was after telephoning late one afternoon to confirm they had the over65 vaccine in stock as there was a shortage in my area, and being advised that if we got there in 15 mins the pharmacist would do it then. I had to ask him where they were and we rushed out and drove 3 miles and got there in 15 mins. The pharmacist asked when we got there who our existing pharmacist was and my wife responded with the name of our GP practice which has the pharmacist inside the building. He repeated the question and my wife repeated the answer. He repeated the question again and I advised the pharmacist was actually Kamsons. He asked 3 times a question that was unnecessary and should not have been asked. My wife was then asked to write down all our details on a piece of paper. He instructed us to sit down and wait, which we did. After 5 mins another elderly couple came in and spoke to the pharmacist. He came out and told us he would have to vaccinate this couple first as they had an appointment and we would have to wait longer. He took them into a small room which was right by our seats and did not close the door. They were a Ukrainian couple and the wife spoke very little English. Consequently I know that he did not have their names, date of birth and address. It was difficult to believe they had an appointment. They may have been patients at Arlington Rd. He finished with them and after a few mins came to us and told us he could not vaccinate us as the ‘system’ was down. He would try to reboot the system and we could wait or come back tomorrow. We advised we would wait. After several minutes he came and said he was going to have to ask us to leave as the system could not reboot and it would be out for the rest of the day. I asked him if he could vaccinate us and complete the input when the system was up and running and he advised he was not allowed to do that and implied it was a statutory requirement before he could administer the vaccine. When we returned home I telephone Head Office and was advised a Business Manager would ring me the following day. She duly did and apologised for all of the above. Had that not happened it was my intention to complain to the NHS about everything that is wrong with the above, which is just about everything. I am advised the pharmacist was a Locum. I could speculate he wanted to keep the vaccine for patients of the practice located there, if we had been advised that we would not have left the house, or he had an issue with Kamsons. It was a wholly unprofessional, unpleasant and frustrating experience.

The rudest pharmacy staff I have ever encountered. They are unhelpful with not the slightest concept of customer care. This is a shame as the GP practice itself is the best I have ever encountered and the doctors and receptionists are lovely. The adjacent pharmacy is, however, another matter.