High street pharmacies are on red alert as chemists run low on stocks of painkillers like Calpol
High street pharmacies are on red as stocks of painkillers for children, such as Calpol and other everyday medicines, are running low
High street pharmacies struggle to get painkillers for children as a new wave of drug shortages hits patients.
Warehouses are virtually empty of several types of liquid pain relievers, including the best-known Calpol brand, forcing pharmacists to scramble for supplies.
Other everyday drugs, including Lemsip and Gaviscon, are also now hard to come by, said Dr. Leyla Hannbeck, CEO of the Association for Independent Multiple Pharmacies.
It comes just months after chemists experienced widespread shortages of children’s versions of antibiotics, due in part to waves of the potentially deadly Strep A bacteria that swept the country over the winter.
Dr. Hannbeck, a practicing pharmacist, said: ‘The supply of liquid paracetamol and ibuprofen, given to children to relieve pain, is very low indeed.
Warehouses are virtually empty of various types of liquid painkillers, including the best-known Calpol brand, leaving pharmacists scrambling for supplies (file image)
A range of common drugs are being hit by the shortages as pharmacists urge patients not to panic
“Pharmacists spend a lot of time trying to get drops of medicine to come through — of at least one variety each — so patients don’t get all jittery.
‘It’s not just painkillers for children that are affected – it’s a range of other common medicines, including Sterimar nasal spray for stuffy nose for babies, Lemsip, Gaviscon, Optrex and [constipation treatment] Senokot.”
A ‘variant’ is a particular formulation of a drug, which refers to both its strength and the way the drug is administered, for example in pill, capsule or liquid form.
Dr. Hannbeck added: “Drug shortages are getting worse this year. The manufacturers tell us it has to do with factory restrictions, problems with the production of the raw ingredients used to make common medicines in China and India.’
The rising price of glass — needed for glass bottles used for many products — exacerbates the problem, she explained.
But she urged patients not to panic, saying: “Please don’t stock up on these drugs — there’s no need to worry and pharmacists are doing everything they can to alleviate the situation.”
A spokesman for the Department of Health and Social Care said: “We know how distressing and frustrating drug supply problems can be, but we want to reassure people that we have well-established processes with the aim of preventing supply problems in the first instance, and to control or limit them when they occur.
“We work with a wide range of organizations operating in the UK medicine supply chain to provide advice and ensure that patients continue to have access to safe and effective treatments.”