Wednesday, 23 March, 2022.
Parents of children suffering from ADHD (Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder) have been obliged to accept out of date medication because of the supply shortages of many prescription drugs in North Cyprus, Yeniduzen reported.
The Concerta 36 mg pills used by the Pharmaceutical Department for children for the treatment of ADHD, was supplied to families, despite the fact that the medication was beyond its expiration date, provided they signed a ‘declaration of acceptance’ and with the approval of a doctor.
The Department of Pharmaceuticals made no statement on the issue, however, Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist Dr. Ayşe Zeki said the following:
“The expiration date does not always mean that the effect of the drug has diminished or that it is unsafe. We have to use the medicine we find”.
Former health minister Filiz Besim, who has already spoken out against the lack of prescription drugs available from state pharmacies said,
“People have been pushed to despair, there is not even Panadol…”
The President of the Pharmacists Association Umut Öksüz, underlined the importance of current storage conditions, he said: “If the expiration date has passed, the drug should not be given to the patient”.
Meanwhile, President of the Patient Rights Association Emete Imge recalled the recent statements made by the government which is responsible for sourcing and supplying pharmaceuticals. The government said that there were difficulties supplying certain medicines and if certain drugs were not available from the state pharmacies, patients would need to buy them privately.
She said that patients having no alternative but to use medicines which were past their expiry date pointed to “a sign of collapse”.
