Pharmacists warning national shortage of epilepsy medication putting lives at risk

Pharmacists are warning a national shortage of epilepsy medication is a healthcare crisis which needs urgent attention.

Consultants say it's putting patient safety at risk as some with the condition are having to ration tablets.

The Epilepsy Society charity says more than 600,000 people in the UK have the condition, or about one in every 100 people.

Multiple seizures could lead to hospitalisation

Charlotte Kelly - a mother of two living in London who has had epilepsy for over 20 years - says she's been forced to start rationing her medication.

"I'm scared. If I'm truly honest, I'm scared knowing that I might not get any medication for a few weeks, or a couple of months, I just don't know when.

"The anxiety of worrying about if you're going to get your medication builds up and the worry alone can cause seizures.

"There's times when I've had to call five, six different pharmacies.

If I don't have my medication I could have multiple seizures and that could lead to hospitalisation and and a worse case - death"

Kay Dhillon, a pharmacist in west London, says stocks started diminishing about three weeks ago.

She describes it now as being at crisis point.

"It is a crisis. You don't know how many epilepsy fits or tablets the person can have or how severe their epilepsy is. Because obviously, they've been taking it every single day for so many years and it just stops one day, or even if they miss a dose, it's a big deal."

Ms Dhillon says she has been given no indication of when the drugs will be back in stock.

Response from Government

The Department for Health says they're working closely with suppliers, NHS England, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, the devolved governments and other stakeholders.

In a statement they say "problems with carbamazepine should be resolved by early February."

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