"waste of tax payers money and mine!"

I recently had a parotidectomy which was brilliantly done , its not that I have a problem with my consultant and all the other staff were great although I don't think what was going to happen was very well explained with very sporadic appointments leading up to it. It's the total and utter waste of time and money when I was released from hospital and when I had my follow up appointment. I was told I had the go ahead by my consultant to go home but nearly 3 hours later I was still sat on a much needed hospital bed waiting for a space in the discharge area and of course my all important unnamed medication, eventually I was collected by a nurse to go to the discharge area, which was a relief however I had to wait again for over an hour for what turned out to be ibuprofen and paracetamol, both of which were available over the counter in all reputable pharmacies! It had taken one very busy consultant, a pharmacist, a ward nurse and a discharge nurse to get me this prescription, it's obvious what was done by doctor and pharmacist but the ward nurse had rang the hospital pharmacist several times while I was waiting taking up her valuable time. The discharge nurse seemed very cautious in checking the meds before giving them to me, it had taken him 35 mins, which is quite frankly bizarre and a further 10 mins explaining how they were taken, anyway procedure is procedure its just crazy that all these people had spent their time which is being paid by taxpayers to give me such an easily obtained medication, it would have been easier and more time efficient to send me on my way with advice to get painkillers on the way home or give me £2 and send me to my local chemist. When I arrived home I forgot about it and thought oh well at least I'm home safe and well, only to have to go back a few days later with a minor complication, blood had made it's way inside my ear during the op and it was making hearing difficult but was easily sorted out, but I was given a prescription which I was to take to the hospital pharmacy, I was told it was for antibiotics, I didn't look at it before I gave it to the pharmacist, 20 mins later she gave me my meds which turned out to be the antibiotics and some paracetamol, which she then told me I had to pay over £8 for I could not believe the doctor didn't just tell me to buy some which cost about 39p in the supermarket for the same strength tablets I could have purchased 20 packets and still had change, mores the pity that the NHS have to waste their time and money in such unnecessary tasks, as for patients undergoing surgery and having to wait around for over 4 hours for medication thats available anywhere. Would it not be better for all concerned to have some sort of wall chart that states how much it would cost the NHS for certain meds vs patients getting them from the chemist themselves, I would dread to think how much was wasted in wages to all these staff to equip me with tablets that together cost less than £2.