The Consumer Health Information Centre (CHIC) is launching a new OTC medicines support service to help consumers use over-the-counter (OTC) medicines correctly.

The service includes an education leaflet and an over-the-counter medicines advice line. The key objective of the service is to provide consumers with an information resource which is dedicated to giving OTC medicines advice. The other objectives of the service are to:

• encourage the safe and effective use of OTC medicines
• increase confidence in the safety and efficacy of OTC medicines
• provide support to potential misusers of OTC medicines.

A million leaflets entitled, "Getting the best from medicines you buy" with information on reading the label, taking the correct dose, and where to go for advice on OTC medicines have been distributed to pharmacists across the UK. Pharmacists are being encouraged to put the leaflet on self-selection or into the bags of customers they feel could benefit from the information.

The leaflet flags up the availability of the new "over-the-counter medicines advice line". The advice line is run by a medical charity, the Medical Advisory Service which employs nurses who are disabled through illness or work injury. The nurses will be able to give advice on queries relating to usage, storage and interactions. They will also be able to give broader advice relating to a caller's illness - and will be able to discuss with the caller which types of OTC medicines would be suitable or unsuitable for them. This service gives people another way of getting advice if they are not comfortable with talking directly to their pharmacist or GP.

Helen Darracott, Director of Legal and Regulatory Affairs at the PAGB says, "We are launching this service to give people access to an information resource which is dedicated to OTC medicines advice. We have teamed up with pharmacies and pharmacy multiples, to distribute the leaflets, as pharmacists are the best placed healthcare professionals to make consumers aware of the leaflet and advice line.

We hope the availability of this new service will also encourage GPs and nurses to discuss with patients their use of OTC medicines."

Kathleen McGrath from the Medical Advisory Service says "The nurses involved have years of experience in answering advice lines. They will be able to offer immediate advice on queries, or if the caller has a more complex problem relating to his/her use of OTC medicines the nurse taking the call will be able to offer a call back counselling service.

All calls will be appropriately followed up, and the MAS will only stop the call back service when the nurse is certain that the caller has received all the help he or she needs or has been successfully referred on to a specialist support service."

The advice line is open from 10am - 3pm Monday to Fridays and calls are charged at normal national rate. The number is: 020 8742 7042.

Notes for editors

50 copies of the leaflet entitled "Getting the best from medicines you buy" have been distributed to pharmacies across the UK with the support of UniChem Ltd, AAH Pharmaceuticals, Phoenix Healthcare Distributors and Sants Pharmaceutical Distributors.

If a pharmacy has not received their leaflets or other healthcare professionals would like copies of the leaflet please call 020 7404 7842 or email bethlyn.saunders@pagb.co.uk


For further information please contact:

Kirstie Pace at CHIC
Tel: 020 7421 9314
Email: kirstie.pace@pagb.co.uk