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Guernsey's doctors and pharmacies have been told to stop supplying Ozempic for weight loss purposes as a world wide shortage of the drug affects diabetic patients who it is primarily intended for.
HSC says the drug Semaglutide, which is sold under the brand name Ozempic, is in very short supply across the whole of the UK at the moment.
That's left local pharmacies struggling to source it, and sometimes unable to fulfil prescriptions, with HSC warning the shortage could continue into the second half of next year.
With around 350 people using semaglutide for Type 2 diabetes in the Bailiwick, and more potentially using it for weight loss, HSC is asking people to be patient in dealing with pharmacies and not to take their frustrations out on staff.
Guernsey's Chief Pharmacist Teena Bhogal said there may be alternatives available to some patients which takes time to arrange.
“The healthcare community is doing all it can to help navigate patients through the present situation," she said. "Prescribing advice on alternative approaches and treatments is being prepared, but we need to be mindful that supplies of the other similar products are also quite low.
"We know that some patients are having semaglutide prescribed privately for weight loss. In line with the NHS advice, we are having to conserve what supplies there are for people with diabetes, which is approved and funded by HSC. Unfortunately, we have had to ask doctors and pharmacies to temporarily suspend prescribing and dispensing semaglutide for weight loss."
Pictured: Pharmacy staff have had some unpleasant encounters with patients unable to pick up their prescribed medication.
HSC has also asked people to be considerate to pharmacists who are dealing with the medical shortages.
A spokesperson said they had received "concerning reports that some people have been upset and verbally abusive when told that the pharmacy is unable to dispense their semaglutide prescriptions".
The spokesperson said that the shortage is a world-wide problem, and "our pharmacy teams work incredibly hard to get patients the medicines they need", adding: "No matter how distressing a situation is, it is never acceptable to be unpleasant."
Pictured: Former UK Prime Minister and MP Boris Johnson, who takes Ozempic for weight loss.
Boris Johnson is among those taking Ozempic for weight loss.
His controversial first column for the Daily Mail, published less than a week after he announced his intention to resign as an MP described it as a 'wonder drug'.
The former Prime Minister said that it hadn't stopped his "11.30pm fridge raids for cheddar and chorizo" but he believed it could change the lives of millions of other people.
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