By Professor John Robertson In the Guardian today with not a reference to Scotland or anywhere in Scotland: UK pharmacists demand powers to change whooping cough prescriptions. Exclusive: Some pharmacies have turned away families because they have run out of the drug clarithromycin. Pharmacists are calling for fresh powers to provide patients with alternative prescriptions as they warned that drugs shortages are hampering their ability to tackle whooping cough. More than 2,700 cases have been reported across England so far in 2024 – more than three times the number recorded in the whole of last year. But some pharmacies have … Continue reading Whooping cough medicine shortages – Pharmacists in Scotland, already routinely alter prescriptions for the benefit of patients

By Professor John Robertson From the Guardian today, not Anglocentric, for once: Drug shortages in England are now at such critical levels that patients are at risk of immediate harm and even death, pharmacists have warned. The situation is so serious that pharmacists increasingly have to issue “owings” to patients – telling someone that only part of their prescription can be dispensed and asking them to come back for the rest of it later, once the pharmacist has sourced the remainder. https://www.theguardian.com/society/article/2024/may/09/medicine-shortages-in-england-beyond-critical-pharmacists-warn The above makes no mention of Scotland. Searching for reports of shortages in Scotland gets the same story of shortages … Continue reading Medicine shortages – a Scottish solution