WIDESPREAD shortages of common antibiotics have hit the Hunter, as global supply chain issues leave residents without access to important medications.
Pharmacist Brady Haskell, of healthSAVE Chemist at Charlestown, said most Hunter pharmacies had been struggling to secure a wide range of medications, but particularly antibiotics and diabetes medications.
Many customers had been going from chemist to chemist, desperately trying to find a pharmacy that still has enough stock of common medications, such as amoxicillin antibiotics, to fill their prescriptions.
But there have been shortages across the board.
"It's Panadol. It's cold and flu tablets. It's antibiotics. It's diabetes medications - we have blocks of medications that just have nothing in the whole area," Mr Haskell said.
"In terms of antibiotics, we've been as proactive as we can be. We got special permits to import some of the more common antibiotics into the country, so we have been impacted a lot less than most. But from what I'm hearing, basic penicillin is hard to get."
Many popular broad-spectrum antibiotics - used to treat things like sinus and chest infections - have been in short supply. Pharmacists are particularly struggling to source stronger antibiotics for adults, and antibiotic liquids for children.
"I'm getting a lot of people coming in who have been to two or three pharmacies," he said. "The liquid is out, so we're having to give different strengths and adjust volumes to make sure that people are getting what they need; calling up their doctor to get confirmation that they're happy for that change.
"If it was my child I'd want a solution, instead of just being told, 'Sorry, see you later'."
Mr Haskell said other antibiotics, like metronidazole - used for stomach infections and dental problems - had been "in and out like a yo yo". While antibiotic substitutions and adjustments may not always be ideal, at least they offered an option.
Mr Haskell said they were now at the stage with some diabetes medications where the "third and fourth options" were out of stock too and "there is absolutely nothing left".
"So people are going without. I wish I had a better answer," he said. "I don't want to be the doom and gloom person. At least with antibiotics, we do still have some other alternatives we can use. Whether they are the best alternatives, or what we originally wanted, is another story. But we are definitely still in a position where we've got basic, stronger and specialised versions - it's just that the normal go-to, basic antibiotics are the ones that are a bit harder to get at the moment."
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