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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Drug restriction 'hits patients' | Drug restriction 'hits patients' |
| (10 minutes later) | |
| Patients claim they have been left in pain following a decision to make it harder to get a commonly-used drug. | Patients claim they have been left in pain following a decision to make it harder to get a commonly-used drug. |
| Specialists said painkiller coproxamol was responsible for hundreds of fatal overdoses a year. | Specialists said painkiller coproxamol was responsible for hundreds of fatal overdoses a year. |
| The Medicines and Healthcare Regulatory Authority removed the drug's licence in January, although this did not stop doctors prescribing it altogether. | The Medicines and Healthcare Regulatory Authority removed the drug's licence in January, although this did not stop doctors prescribing it altogether. |
| However, some patients say alternatives do not work, and their GPs are not prepared to offer an unlicenced drug. | However, some patients say alternatives do not work, and their GPs are not prepared to offer an unlicenced drug. |
| The drug, a mixture of paracetamol and an opioid drug, has been available since the 1960s, but its licence was withdrawn because it was too easy to overdose on it. | The drug, a mixture of paracetamol and an opioid drug, has been available since the 1960s, but its licence was withdrawn because it was too easy to overdose on it. |
| Coproxamol has been linked to fatal overdoses | |
| This still gave GPs the option to prescribe it "off-licence", although this is considered a greater legal risk in the event of side-effects or complications. | This still gave GPs the option to prescribe it "off-licence", although this is considered a greater legal risk in the event of side-effects or complications. |
| However, for some patients - such as those with chronic back pain, arthritis, or sciatica - coproxamol was the most effective drug available. | However, for some patients - such as those with chronic back pain, arthritis, or sciatica - coproxamol was the most effective drug available. |
| Jenny Purle, who was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis at just 13, can no longer get the drug, and is now in greater pain than before. | Jenny Purle, who was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis at just 13, can no longer get the drug, and is now in greater pain than before. |
| She said: "I've got about a dozen and they're like gold dust to me. If I'm at screaming point then I will take a couple. | She said: "I've got about a dozen and they're like gold dust to me. If I'm at screaming point then I will take a couple. |
| "Coproxamol wasn't a magic wand - but it was the closest thing I had." | "Coproxamol wasn't a magic wand - but it was the closest thing I had." |
| She now has to take a cocktail of drugs to control her pain. | She now has to take a cocktail of drugs to control her pain. |
| "I am taking pills to counter-act the pills, to counter-act the pills. How far do you take it?" | "I am taking pills to counter-act the pills, to counter-act the pills. How far do you take it?" |
| Fatal risk | Fatal risk |
| However, Professor Nick Bateman, from the University of Edinburgh, backed the decision to remove the licence. | However, Professor Nick Bateman, from the University of Edinburgh, backed the decision to remove the licence. |
| "The truth is that in the UK for the past 10 years or more somewhere between 200 and 300 people have been dying every year from accidental ingestion, perhaps from overdose, many of them old or confused or vulnerable young people - often people who weren't actually prescribed the drug at all - and that's the target of this change." | "The truth is that in the UK for the past 10 years or more somewhere between 200 and 300 people have been dying every year from accidental ingestion, perhaps from overdose, many of them old or confused or vulnerable young people - often people who weren't actually prescribed the drug at all - and that's the target of this change." |
| Dr June Raine, from the MHRA, said that the move was already saving hundreds of lives a year, and denied that doctors were confused about its status. | Dr June Raine, from the MHRA, said that the move was already saving hundreds of lives a year, and denied that doctors were confused about its status. |
| She said: "We have always accepted that some patients will need co-proxamol, and that is why supplies are being assured. | She said: "We have always accepted that some patients will need co-proxamol, and that is why supplies are being assured. |
| "The doctor has to make a judgement that using the drug is in the patient's best interests." | "The doctor has to make a judgement that using the drug is in the patient's best interests." |
| GP Rosemary Leonard, who sat on the expert panel which eventually decided to remove coproxamol's licence, is continuing to prescribe the drug to some of her patients, even though the cost to her primary care trust has risen from 20p a box to £20 a box since the change. | GP Rosemary Leonard, who sat on the expert panel which eventually decided to remove coproxamol's licence, is continuing to prescribe the drug to some of her patients, even though the cost to her primary care trust has risen from 20p a box to £20 a box since the change. |
| She said that the lives saved had to be balanced against the likely increase in the number of patients who needed hospital treatment for stomach problems as a result of taking anti-inflammatory painkillers such as ibuprofen as an alternative. | She said that the lives saved had to be balanced against the likely increase in the number of patients who needed hospital treatment for stomach problems as a result of taking anti-inflammatory painkillers such as ibuprofen as an alternative. |