A combination of illnesses and a shortage of some medications is leading to a perfect storm according to a local pharmacist.
However Fethard based Jimmy O’Sullivan says there is no need to “panic buy”.
In all 212 medicines are now unavailable to Irish patients – they include treatment for chest infections, strep-throat, pneumonia and blood pressure.
The analysis compiled by industry experts also found 11 of these medicines are deemed critical by the World Health Organisation.
Speaking on Tipp Today earlier Jimmy O’Sullivan said some of the shortage is down to the low rate of colds and flu in recent years.
“It’s a very serious shortage – I’ve never seen anything like what we’re going through at the moment. But also I’ve never seen so many people so sick.
“Take Benylin – they have 12 different products but we’re only able to get 4 of them at the moment. They’ve looked at their sales of cough mixtures over the last two years and they’ve sold nothing because we didn’t have any coughs or colds for the last two or three years. They just haven’t manufactured enough to be able to supply the market.”
