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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
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