A father from South Bristol has told Bristol Live he had to make seven visits to chemists and three to the GP surgery to obtain antibiotics for his two-year-old daughter yesterday (December 7) after repeatedly being told there was no stock available. His story comes a day after the health secretary, Steve Barclay, told Times Radio that officials were “not aware of any shortages” for penicillin and amoxicillin, commonly used to treat Strep A and that drug companies were “required to notify us if there are supply issues, and we have not been notified by them of that”.
Dylan Jacobs, from South Bristol, said that he and his wife had been under the weather with suspected tonsillitis and a chest infection for around 10 days when he became concerned about his two-year-old daughter after she too fell ill and decided to seek medical advice.
He said: “I would never normally contact the GP over a cold or cough because there’s nothing they can do if it's viral, but we got worried because she couldn’t keep food down and she hadn’t really eaten in at least five days.”
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Mr Jacobs was able to see a doctor almost straight away. He said: ”The doctor said, ‘we can’t say what it is'. They were going to prescribe a certain type of penicillin or amoxicillin, but they said just in case it's strep A, you should get Penicillin V.
Penicillin V is the brand name for phenoxymethylpenicillin, a type of penicillin antibiotic used to treat common bacterial infections, including Strep A and Scarlett fever. Cases of both infections have been reported to be more than four times higher this year compared to averages in previous years, according to The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA).
Asked if he had initial concerns about Strep A being the cause of his daughter's illness, Mr Jacobs replied: ”No, not really. It wasn’t a worry because she didn’t have a rash. I do know it’s out there, but that wasn’t on my mind. I thought it was a cold or a cough.”
At his nearest pharmacy in Tesco in Brislington, he claims he was told the drug was out of stock, and it was the same story at Boots at Avonmeads. Mr Jacobs said: “They suggested I go back to the GP to ask for a different type of antibiotic. I tried the Langton Road Boots, and they were out of stock too, so I ended up back at the GPs.”
The surgery issued a new prescription for Clarithromycin, often used for those with an allergy to Penicillin, out, but Mr Jacobs claims at the Tesco pharmacy he was told that, too, was unavailable and that January 2023 was the next expected delivery. He said: “ We’re in a supposedly developed part of the world with a good medical system, and I can’t get basic antibiotics, so I started to get a bit concerned. I then tried at Boots with that prescription, and they didn’t have the 125mg dose but did have 250mg.”
He was informed he would need to get yet another prescription to get hold of the higher dose. In all, Mr Jacobs made three trips each to Boots Avonmeads and Tesco Brislington and one to Boots Langston, and three visits to the GP clinic.
Mr Jacobs pointed out was able to spend most of the day hunting down antibiotics even though he was unwell, but for many, this would be impossible. He said: “The thing is for me, I’m 40, and when it’s your kid, you’ll keep going until you drop. I didn’t feel like leaving bed yesterday, but when you see your little girl, you get that extra oomph of determination.”
“But I’m lucky, I get paid sick leave, and I’ve got a car as well, but if I was working shifts, or if was an older person or a single parent, then she wouldn’t have got any medicine because there’s no way there would have been the time to do it.
“In the end, I got it, so I can’t grumble too much, but for some people, this could be theoretically life or death. I wonder if this could have been solved earlier if there had been better communication, if the chemist could have said, 'this is what we’ve got; go back and tell your doctor this is what to ask for.’
“It’s causing extra work for them, that's for sure. Everybody at the pharmacies and clinic was very sympathetic and nice. Basically, I had to kind of push and question people, and I think a lot of people would have just gone home.
“I don’t think I would have gone through this kind of effort just for me, but you pull through for your kids, don’t you? We did get there in the end, but I’ve never ever had that issue before; it was surprising. You end up feeling a bit powerless.
“Because the GP is doing their job and the pharmacy can’t help it, but there’s no one in the middle who you can go to and say this isn’t working can you help me? Everything is siloed.”
Mr Jacobs' experience doesn’t appear to be isolated. Darren Jones, MP for Bristol North West tweeted yesterday (Wednesday): “My wife and I have had to visit *eight* pharmacies in Bristol and in London today before we could get an urgent prescription for kids' antibiotics sorted. I now have 50% of what the GP asked for and have been told to come back for the rest. Reason? A shortage of antibiotics.
He added: “The GP is just taking precautions because of cold symptoms and confirmed cases of Strep A. It’s a stressful time for many parents, especially for those with sick kids. The Government must get a grip.”
In a statement, a Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “There is no supplier shortage of antibiotics available to treat Strep A. As the Secretary of State said, we sometimes have surges for products, and increased demand means some pharmacies are having difficulties obtaining certain antibiotics.”
The DHSC did acknowledge "a supply issue" and said, "the team will undertake a thorough risk assessment and will use a host of tools to help mitigate and manage any issues."
"We are aware of a short-term issue with sugar-containing amoxicillin 250mg/5mL oral suspension; however, [supply of] the sugar-free product is able to support a full uplift in demand.
"Supplies (of Phenoxymethylpenicillin) are currently available. However, these products have seen a particularly sharp increase in demand in the past week, which has meant that stocks in wholesalers have been depleted very quickly, and replenishments haven’t kept in step with demand, which remains higher than usual.
"DHSC is engaging with manufacturers and wholesalers to understand the availability of stocks and explore what can be done to expedite deliveries and bring forward more stock for the UK market as soon as possible."
The National Pharmacy Association commented, "There has been a spike in demand for some antibiotics, including those used to treat Strep A infection in children. Pharmacies are having to work very hard to obtain stocks of these antibiotics, and some lines are temporarily unavailable.
"We have been advised by wholesalers that most lines will be replenished soon, but we cannot say exactly when that will be. As always, pharmacists will continue to work with local GPs to help people get the medicines they need as promptly as possible, which may require a change of prescription.”
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