Scilly Pharmacy may issue 'Brexit' prescriptions
The Isles of Scilly Pharmacy may give out special 'Brexit' prescriptions in the New Year in case the UK leaves the EU without a deal.
The Pharmacy has received instructions from the Government on how to prepare for the possibility of a No Deal Brexit.
Victoria Birch told Radio Scilly: "The drug wholesalers are being asked to increase their stockholding to three months’ worth so should the worst happen we’ve got three months' wiggle room to find alternative suppliers. The individual pharmacies have been asked not to start increasing their stock because they’re worried that if everyone starts doing that it will cause drug shortages."
She also explained that the Pharmacy is liaising with the Surgery to make sure they protect the islands' patient population as much as possible.
"We are discussing the possibility that everyone who orders their prescription in January will actually receive two months’ worth - the January prescription and the Brexit prescription.
"This will be a prescription that they will not open, it will be kept in their house for if we have shortages of their medication. So it gives each individual a month's buffer. That will hopefully be enough to cover us over the period of uncertainty."
Victoria added: "We are hoping that actually everything will tick over as normal and the patients won’t notice anything different whatsoever. But we are thinking about what we can do between us and the Surgery to give patients that little bit of a buffer so the Brexit prescription is something we may be doing."
Find out more about what the pharmacy is up to at its Facebook page www.facebook.com/IslesOfScillyPharmacy.