Salisbury pharmacist says they face medication shortages on a daily basis
Health bosses are warning patients are rationing medication
A South Wiltshire pharmacy has told Greatest Hits Radio that people are facing life-changing situations as a result of a shortage in medicine supplies.
Medication for conditions such as epilepsy, ADHD and diabetes are in short supply, forcing patients to play 'Pharmacy Bingo' to find the medicine they need.
Alison Kidney is the pharmacist at Sarum Pharmacy in Salisbury and says it's an issue they've faced a lot in the last 12 months.
"We're dealing with it on a daily basis. There are several items that we can't get hold of and they're really impacting on our patients," she said.
And while they can work around the issue through their links to multiple wholesalers, but with so many pharmacies in short supply, it's a mad dash to get their hands on stock.
"We're in a fortunate position that we deal with about four or five different wholesalers, so we can always sort of keep an eye on each of their list to see if they've got stock available.
"You have to be on the ball and watching their stock levels all the time so you can pick up medicine when it's available," Alison said.
She added that they can discuss alternative medicines with GP surgeries but there's not always an appropriate alternative that can be given.
There's also a network of pharmacies in the city who are working together with local surgeries to help each other out and find out who has stock of the medicine people need.
It's leaving people in difficult positions, with Alison revealing she'd spoken to a mum who's son has ADHD and is preparing for his GCSE exams.
She said: "She cannot get his medication. How is he going to focus and manage to take his exams? It could be life changing for him."
And there are people potentially living with uncontrolled diabetes as they cant get of their injections, meaning the NHS could be placed under even further strain.