One resident said her prescription was not ready two weeks after it was sent to the health giant’s Coney Street branch by her doctor.

A Boots spokesperson said some stores are experiencing higher than usual wait times following the closures elsewhere.

As The Press reported, Boots closed its store in King’s Square last October, its store in Clifton in February and plans to close its store in Heworth East Parade on Saturday, March 9.

Boots in King's Square, York, before it closed (Image: Darren Greenwood)

Boots told patients who previously used these stores to visit its nearby branches instead. 

But concern has been raised that some of these branches are becoming over-stretched, meaning longer waits to collect prescription.

Resident waits over eight days for prescription

One York resident, who wished to remain anonymous, said she visited Boots in Coney Street to collect her prescription eight days after her doctor had sent it to the store but it was still not available.

"The pharmacy was busy with a long queue and when I got to the front the pharmacist said my prescription hadn’t arrived yet," she told The Press.

“She signed me up to the automatic text system so I would get a text when my order arrived.

Boots in Clifton, York, which is now closed (Image: Dylan Connell)

“That was seven days ago and my prescription still hasn’t arrived.

“No one else in the queue ahead of me left with their prescription either so I wondered if there was a problem with keeping up with all the orders now that several of the local Boots pharmacies have shut.

“There were only two people working at the pharmacy counter and a long queue of customers so I think it must be quite stressful for the staff.

“Plan ahead if you’re going to run out of your pills.”

Another resident wrote on social media platform Nextdoor that he was told by staff at the Boots pharmacy in Heworth Village that it would now take seven days to process his prescription.

Higher waits as stores welcome new patients, says Boots

A Boots Spokesperson told The Press that some stores in York have experienced higher waits as they welcome new patients.

They said Boots is asking customers at the Coney Street and Heworth Village stores to wait seven days from ordering repeat prescriptions to collecting them.

This includes two days for surgeries to process and release the prescription, the spokesperson said.

Urgent prescriptions are processed appropriately, they added.

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“There have been occasions of higher than usual wait times for prescriptions at a couple of our stores in York, while we onboard new patients from nearby stores which have recently closed,” the spokesperson continued.

“We have put additional pharmacy support in place in these stores and our team members are working hard to minimise disruption for customers and provide the best possible service.

“We would like to assure patients that any higher than normal wait times are temporary.

“We apologise for any inconvenience caused and would like to thank people for bearing with us and being kind to our team members at this time.”