A pharmacist has spoken about how the medicine shortages crisis is affecting Bolton.
Thorrun Govind, the former chairwoman of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society in England, and now a healthcare lawyer, said the government needed to step in and put measures in place to allow pharmacists to provide alternatives when medicines are not available.
Thorrun highlighted how patients are unable to get their prescriptions on time and no alternative can be provided unless the government intervenes.
Thorrun told The Bolton News: “Across the country there are medicine shortages that pharmacies are having to deal with.
“Every pharmacist is having to deal with this and that’s why we are asking patients to be patient with us to ensure they have the medicines they need.
“If there were no shortages and we would not have to find time to do that then we could spend time with patients.
“It means they are not getting it on time and are not able to get on with other parts of our role.”
Thorrun, from Bolton, appeared on the BBC Breakfast show to talk about the issue affecting pharmacists in Bolton and all over the country.
She told hosts on BBC Breakfast that pharmacists spent ’11 hours’ on average a week trying to locate medication.
Thorrun said: “Shortages are causing problems because it is hard to know how to manage your medications, if you don’t know when the next supply is going to be coming in.”
The issue is not just in Bolton but seen all over the country as the shortages ‘doubled’ since a year ago according to the British Generic Manufacturers Association (BGMA).
Thorrun said: “It’s just something that pharmacies in Bolton and in the country are dealing with.
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“People are reporting this and having difficulty and patients are getting annoyed with the issue as they need their medicines.
“It needs action from the Government from this, to look into the issue and come up with a solution.
“It requires them to look into it so it needs an organised approach.”
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