Brexit and prescription drugs
Discussion
Sorry for the topic. I know we’re all bored/annoyed by it.
But in the same way the government is making ‘sensible precautions’ in the event of no deal, I want to as well. Not to the extent of stockpiling food, but I am on a specific medication where if I don’t take it every 24 hours it significantly (and I mean seriously dramatically) affects my health.
I’m going to ask the doctor if I can gradually stockpile, to which I fully expect the answer to be no (specifically because if I took to much it would be fatal, however that’s not my intention, but a sensible precaution from a medical point of view), but are there any other precautions I can take? I do have relatives in the Netherlands who could maybe get hold of it. I know this sounds daft, but please bear in mind if I miss this medication I would be in an extremely bad state, so I would appreciate some non judgemental advice.
But in the same way the government is making ‘sensible precautions’ in the event of no deal, I want to as well. Not to the extent of stockpiling food, but I am on a specific medication where if I don’t take it every 24 hours it significantly (and I mean seriously dramatically) affects my health.
I’m going to ask the doctor if I can gradually stockpile, to which I fully expect the answer to be no (specifically because if I took to much it would be fatal, however that’s not my intention, but a sensible precaution from a medical point of view), but are there any other precautions I can take? I do have relatives in the Netherlands who could maybe get hold of it. I know this sounds daft, but please bear in mind if I miss this medication I would be in an extremely bad state, so I would appreciate some non judgemental advice.
skeggysteve said:
What meds are your talking about?
I’d rather not say (sorry, it’s a personal thing) but if I don’t have them every 24 hours I can’t function. It’s not a life threatening thing, but suffice to say I wouldn’t be able to look after myself if I didn’t have them. I have accidentally missed them a couple of times, and it ended up with me being hospitalised.Canute said:
If a "no-deal" happens, medicine, food and fuel could all be in short supply for while, there is no way around right now.
Oh, I agree, however, my prime concern is the medication. I can cope without fuel, or even food (more realistically, specific foods) for a while. However, I know from experience that I can’t cope without this medication.ChevronB19 said:
skeggysteve said:
What meds are your talking about?
I’d rather not say (sorry, it’s a personal thing) but if I don’t have them every 24 hours I can’t function. It’s not a life threatening thing, but suffice to say I wouldn’t be able to look after myself if I didn’t have them. I have accidentally missed them a couple of times, and it ended up with me being hospitalised.But I wouldn't worry about the brexit, all the talk about shortages is just scare mongering.
I would talk to your doc and pharmacy about your concerns.
I would hope that this shambles of a government is taking care of this eventuality, presumably as part of the billions apparently being spent on ‘preparations’.
OP, all you can do is ask your doctor. If your medication is only available on prescription you will probably not be able to source it through any other route, here or abroad, and doing so may actually be illegal, depending on what they are.
OP, all you can do is ask your doctor. If your medication is only available on prescription you will probably not be able to source it through any other route, here or abroad, and doing so may actually be illegal, depending on what they are.
skeggysteve said:
No problem with not wanting to say on an open forum.
But I wouldn't worry about the brexit, all the talk about shortages is just scare mongering.
I would talk to your doc and pharmacy about your concerns.
The NHS is already having supply problems with some common medications (even the likes of Naproxen have been hard for the local pharmacy to get). So if there were a temporary disruption in supply as is likely for a no deal Brexit, I can quite believe there will be problems obtaining many drugs.But I wouldn't worry about the brexit, all the talk about shortages is just scare mongering.
I would talk to your doc and pharmacy about your concerns.
Although retired, I still keep in touch with community pharmacy and from what I can see there will be problems coming up.
At the moment most prescriptions are written for generic medications rather than specific brands and this works well because all the generic manufacturers compete against each other and this ensures a constant supply of cheap drugs.
After Brexit there will be problems in the supply chain which means that fewer meds will be coming in and therefore less competition and prices will rise.
This will lead to two consequences:
1. There will be a reduced choice for patients. If you like "Teva" branded generics, for example, then you may have to settle for another generic brand as the pharmacy won't always be able to guarantee supply from a particular manufacturer.
That's essentially trivial, but this may well also apply if you need to take a specific branded medicine for a therapeutic reason eg people on Epilim may find that isn't available so are given unbranded sodium valproate, which may affect how well an individual's epilepsy is controlled, with consequences for driving and employment. If this comes to apply to insulin, then a lot of time and effort will be spent on rebalancing diabetics on whatever insulin is available.
2. The main wholesalers in this country own the two biggest chains of pharmacies. The wholesalers will hoard stock so that prices rise and their pharmacies will make more profit.
At the moment most prescriptions are written for generic medications rather than specific brands and this works well because all the generic manufacturers compete against each other and this ensures a constant supply of cheap drugs.
After Brexit there will be problems in the supply chain which means that fewer meds will be coming in and therefore less competition and prices will rise.
This will lead to two consequences:
1. There will be a reduced choice for patients. If you like "Teva" branded generics, for example, then you may have to settle for another generic brand as the pharmacy won't always be able to guarantee supply from a particular manufacturer.
That's essentially trivial, but this may well also apply if you need to take a specific branded medicine for a therapeutic reason eg people on Epilim may find that isn't available so are given unbranded sodium valproate, which may affect how well an individual's epilepsy is controlled, with consequences for driving and employment. If this comes to apply to insulin, then a lot of time and effort will be spent on rebalancing diabetics on whatever insulin is available.
2. The main wholesalers in this country own the two biggest chains of pharmacies. The wholesalers will hoard stock so that prices rise and their pharmacies will make more profit.
It “may” be worth getting a private gp appointment and a private prescription (sometimes this works out cheaper Than NHS prescription costs as well). I wanted 3 months of antihistamines as otc hay fever meds don’t work well for me, and the meds I want are often unavailable at peak times. Gp was willing to prescribe 2 months worth before summer as a preemptive given that it was clear I’ve always had these drugs every summer for 8 years.
Might be more complex if your medication has addiction/ harm issues but worth asking the question?
Might be more complex if your medication has addiction/ harm issues but worth asking the question?
meehaja said:
It “may” be worth getting a private gp appointment and a private prescription (sometimes this works out cheaper Than NHS prescription costs as well). I wanted 3 months of antihistamines as otc hay fever meds don’t work well for me, and the meds I want are often unavailable at peak times. Gp was willing to prescribe 2 months worth before summer as a preemptive given that it was clear I’ve always had these drugs every summer for 8 years.
Might be more complex if your medication has addiction/ harm issues but worth asking the question?
Not really. GPs have been told not to encourage hoarding.Might be more complex if your medication has addiction/ harm issues but worth asking the question?
skeggysteve said:
ChevronB19 said:
skeggysteve said:
What meds are your talking about?
I’d rather not say (sorry, it’s a personal thing) but if I don’t have them every 24 hours I can’t function. It’s not a life threatening thing, but suffice to say I wouldn’t be able to look after myself if I didn’t have them. I have accidentally missed them a couple of times, and it ended up with me being hospitalised.But I wouldn't worry about the brexit, all the talk about shortages is just scare mongering.
I would talk to your doc and pharmacy about your concerns.
Personally (and this is just an opinion), I think a hard Brexit is very unlikely to occur; but nevertheless, if it does then there will be other possible routes for your medicine to come into the UK (which obviously includes the existing routes, just with a tariff applied for us as a non-EU customer). The fact that those supply chains will cost more won't be passed onto you, initially at least, but I suspect the prescription charge would go up over time to cover costs.
I'm sure a quick chat to your GP surgery will put your mind at rest, although personally I'd leave it until after the government vote on the deal in the coming weeks. We'll know a lot more in a month's time.
RobM77 said:
There seems to be a tendency for a lot of perfectly logical consequences of a hard Brexit to labelled as 'scare mongering' or 'project fear'. Shortages of some prescription drugs after a hard Brexit is not scaremongering; it's pretty obvious that if your drugs arrive in the UK via a supply chain that involves the EU Single Market, then if we have a hard Brexit and leave the Single Market, those drugs will not be able to be delivered.
Why? Won't the companies that grossly overcharge for many prescription drugs want the income any more?OP - you can get prescription drugs online, quite legally.
RobM77 said:
Personally (and this is just an opinion), I think a hard Brexit is very unlikely to occur; but nevertheless, if it does then there will be other possible routes for your medicine to come into the UK (which obviously includes the existing routes, just with a tariff applied for us as a non-EU customer). The fact that those supply chains will cost more won't be passed onto you, initially at least, but I suspect the prescription charge would go up over time to cover costs.
I'm sure a quick chat to your GP surgery will put your mind at rest, although personally I'd leave it until after the government vote on the deal in the coming weeks. We'll know a lot more in a month's time.
The prescription charge that is only payable in England and then on about 10% of prescriptions? I doubt it.I'm sure a quick chat to your GP surgery will put your mind at rest, although personally I'd leave it until after the government vote on the deal in the coming weeks. We'll know a lot more in a month's time.
GPs know little more than anyone else about how supply chains will work in the future, they've been fed a load of bulls
t from NHS England in order to stop people panicking and stockpiling medicationEdited by Paul Dishman on Monday 31st December 16:32
popeyewhite said:
RobM77 said:
There seems to be a tendency for a lot of perfectly logical consequences of a hard Brexit to labelled as 'scare mongering' or 'project fear'. Shortages of some prescription drugs after a hard Brexit is not scaremongering; it's pretty obvious that if your drugs arrive in the UK via a supply chain that involves the EU Single Market, then if we have a hard Brexit and leave the Single Market, those drugs will not be able to be delivered.
Why? Won't the companies that grossly overcharge for many prescription drugs want the income any more?OP - you can get prescription drugs online, quite legally.
popeyewhite said:
RobM77 said:
There seems to be a tendency for a lot of perfectly logical consequences of a hard Brexit to labelled as 'scare mongering' or 'project fear'. Shortages of some prescription drugs after a hard Brexit is not scaremongering; it's pretty obvious that if your drugs arrive in the UK via a supply chain that involves the EU Single Market, then if we have a hard Brexit and leave the Single Market, those drugs will not be able to be delivered.
Why? Won't the companies that grossly overcharge for many prescription drugs want the income any more?OP - you can get prescription drugs online, quite legally.
On your second point, obtaining prescription drugs online (for example from pharmacy2u.co.uk) isn't some sort of magic route that avoids the single market. The drugs come from the same place that they do if you go to your local pharmacy or dispensing surgery - it's just online, rather than on the high street.
RobM77 said:
There seems to be a tendency for a lot of perfectly logical consequences of a hard Brexit to labelled as 'scare mongering' or 'project fear'. Shortages of some prescription drugs after a hard Brexit is not scaremongering; it's pretty obvious that if your drugs arrive in the UK via a supply chain that involves the EU Single Market, then if we have a hard Brexit and leave the Single Market, those drugs will not be able to be delivered.
Why not, who will prevent them?RobM77 said:
Personally (and this is just an opinion), I think a hard Brexit is very unlikely to occur; but nevertheless, if it does then there will be other possible routes for your medicine to come into the UK (which obviously includes the existing routes, just with a tariff applied for us as a non-EU customer
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