John Culatto
HEALTH chiefs in Gibraltar have reassured patients that nobody will go without medicine they need even if GPs are no longer offering patients prescriptions for medicine available cheaper at pharmacies.
Gibraltar Health Authority Director General Patrick Geoghegan explained that April’s decision to stop giving out prescriptions won’t affect vital medication.
“The GHA will not allow any of its patients to go without medication that they genuinely need,” Geoghegan said.
“It is important, however, to recognise that some medications are cheaper and easier to access over the counter than via prescription.”
He said that another reason for the change was that ‘some prescribed medications have been changed from expensive brands to alternative generic options but what is inside the pack is medically the same’.
“This policy is not about taking medicine away from patients who need it; it is about responsible use of the GHA’s resources so that we can provide our patients with the treatment and medications that are the best options for them,” Geoghegan added.
He advised patients to talk to their GP if they had any questions about their prescriptions.
The health chief said doctors would then provide them with any medicine they needed for their particular conditions.
It follows a campaign to try to collect all unused medicine at pharmacies to try to find out how much was being wasted.
The cost-cutting measures are part of a government-wide campaign to pay off loans incurred during the pandemic.
Along with the shrinking of the economy after Brexit, ministers have expressed the need to shrink public sector spending.
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