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How three in four pharmacies give poor drugs advice: Patients' health is being put at risk

Some High Street pharmacies are giving customers poor quality and even dangerous advice about their medicines, claims a new survey.

Almost three-quarters of pharmacists did not warn about the hazards of mixing prescription drugs with a heartburn remedy.

The survey showed pharmacies in big chains and supermarkets give a better service than High Street independents.

Almost three-quarters of pharmacists did not warn about the hazards of mixing prescription drugs with a heartburn remedy

Which? sent trained undercover mystery shoppers into 122 pharmacies across the UK and an expert panel of three experienced pharmacists rated the advice they received.

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It found some pharmacies are giving out advice without asking the right questions, with potentially serious consequences for their customers’ health.

Advice from pharmacies was given an unsatisfactory rating in around four in ten (43 per cent) visits overall, almost 10 per cent higher than a previous survey in 2008.

Which? sent mystery shoppers into 122 pharmacies

There was a marked difference in the quality of advice given from different types of pharmacies.Independent pharmacies gave unsatisfactory advice more than half of the time compared to a third of the time for the leading chains and supermarkets – with no change on the last survey. 

In one scenario, a customer taking the drug warfarin to prevent blood clots requested a heartburn remedy called Pantoloc Control

Pharmacies should have asked basic but important questions about existing prescription medication because it can interfere with warfarin levels in the blood, leading to bleeding problems and even hospitalisation.

But the advice was rated unsatisfactory in 71 per cent of the visits – the worst finding.

On visits where counter assistants dealt with mystery shoppers without consulting a pharmacist, two thirds gave poor advice compared with one in four when involving a pharmacist.

Which? executive director, Richard Lloyd, said ‘Too many pharmacies are still failing their customers, with some potentially serious consequences.

‘We’re pleased that the Royal Pharmaceutical Society and the General Pharmaceutical Council recognise our concerns and are taking steps to tackle these issues. ‘Consumers should be able to trust the advice they receive from any pharmacy they visit.’

In a separate snapshot study, Which? also discovered that two-thirds of pharmacies did not follow the professional guidance by failing to explain there is no scientific evidence that homeopathy works.

Martin Astbury, president of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society, said ‘The pharmacists I know won’t recognise their own practice in the results Which? have shared with us.

Which? said that chains and supermarkets performed better in their study

‘The RPS wants to understand the underlying reasons for the differences highlighted by this report and how to improve consistency of the advice the public receive when they purchase medicines from a pharmacy. There are some areas which require improvement. 

‘We have commissioned the University of Nottingham to look internationally for best practice on the sale of medicines through pharmacy.  We will use the outcomes of this to make recommendations as to how pharmacists’ skills can be used most effectively in Great Britain to ensure the public get the best possible advice.’



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