Parents warned not to ‘hoard’ Calpol as shortages hit

Families have been warned that stocks of Calpol are low on high street shelves due to “factory constraints”.

Pharmacies and chemists also currently face a shortage of Lemsip, Gaviscon, Optrex and other common medicines.

Experts have told Brits not to “hoard the medicines” as the situation should ease quickly, Birmingham Live reports.

The issue is largely down to “challenges” in factories abroad, where there are issues with the production of the raw ingredients used to make most of these remedies.

Dr Leyla Hannbeck, chief executive of the Association for Independent Multiple Pharmacies (AIMP) told Daily Mail: “Supplies of liquid paracetamol and ibuprofen, which are given to children to ease pain, are very low indeed.

“Pharmacists are spending a lot of time trying to ensure we get drips of medicines coming through – at least one variant of each – so patients are not left completely high and dry. It’s not just children’s painkillers that are affected – it’s a range of other very common medicines including Sterimar congestion relief nasal spray for babies, Lemsip, Gaviscon, Optrex and [constipation treatment] Senokot.”

Dr Hannbeck, who became chief executive of AIMP in 2019, added: “Please don’t hoard these medicines – there’s no need to be concerned and pharmacists are doing everything they can to ease the situation.”

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesman said in a statement today: “We know how distressing and frustrating medicine supply issues can be, but we want to assure people that we have well-established processes with an aim to prevent supply issues occurring in the first instance, and to manage or mitigate them when they occur.

“We work with a wide range of organisations operating in the UK medicine supply chain to provide advice and help ensure that patients continue to have access to safe and effective treatments.”