Changes to Opening Hours - August 2023

To help keep our customers informed of changes to our service later this month, we have published the following changes to our opening hours from 25-29 August 2023:

England, Wales & NI August Bank Holiday Opening Hours 2023

Scotland Opening Hours 25-29 August 2023

Class 2 recall-Various Braun products

B. Braun Medical Limited is recalling various product batches as a precautionary measure after traces of midazolam were detected in the batches listed in this notification.

MHRA Drug alert link:https://www.gov.uk/drug-device-alerts/class-2-medicines-recall-b-braun-medical-ltd-various-products-el-23-a-slash-27?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=govuk-notifications-topic&utm_source=d9a6644a-a63e-49c8-a1c5-8eb3269f9399&utm_content=immediately

Further Information

For stock control enquiries please contact via email or telephone: Josh Watts: Product Manager, email: josh.watts@bbraun.com or telephone: 07973 976257

For information about the recall please contact via email or telephone: Catherine Clulow: Local Vigilance and Project Coordinator, email: recalls.uk@bbraun.com or telephone: 0114 2259155

Please return all affected stock to your original supplier for credit. Unfortunately we can only accept stock purchased from us (Alliance Healthcare Distribution Limited). Any other stock will be returned to your stores/Pharmacies.

Supporting the NHS – a Q&A with Victoria Hoy, Pharmacy Procurement and IT Manager, Royal Surrey Foundation Trust

Earlier this month we celebrated 75 years of the NHS. This prompted us to take look closer at how we support our amazing National Health Service. We caught up with one of the pharmacists we work with on a daily basis and asked about her experiences of working with the NHS and the working relationship with Alliance Healthcare.

Do you enjoy working for the NHS?

The NHS have had a lot of ups and downs over the years, in particular the challenges we faced with Covid. Caring for our patients is obviously our main priority, so when we do face difficult times, we are like a family who support and help each other through, which is a wonderful thing to be a part of.

How would you describe working with Alliance Healthcare?

Alliance Healthcare are a huge part of our patient care, particularly in the pharmacy world. Knowing that we have a reliable source to provide of a huge range of medications means we can ensure there are no hold ups to care and can continue to look after our patients.  In my experience, the service you provide has always been extremely dependable so when we are rushed off our feet, we know the experience we receive from you will be stress free.

Coming out of the pandemic, how has your work evolved?

We had to become a lot more reactive as our patients and staff got used to us being able to source products quickly and efficiently during that time. This expectation has continued as we move out of the pandemic, so we have learned to adapt our work processes and order medications as soon as we are asked to.

How did you celebrate 75 years of the NHS?

Our Trust brought in ice cream vans and staff were all able to get free ice cream for the day. There were also various events going on within the Trust which allowed staff and patients to celebrate together.

Do you have a Birthday message for them?

Happy Birthday NHS, you have looked after so many people over the years, including many of my family and friends. You provide access to care for all, and I hope you continue to do so for many years to come. Through the bad times and good, I am proud to be an NHS employee.

Alliance Healthcare Team Members Complete 6-hour Trek in Aid of Alzheimer’s Society Dressed as ‘Glamorous Grannies’

Alliance Healthcare UK team members Nick Atkins, Swansea Service Centre Manager, and Karl Goodall, Swansea Driver Team Manager, successfully climbed Pen y Fan in South Wales in aid of Alzheimer’s Society.

Pen y Fan, situated in the Brecon Beacons National Park, is the highest British peak south of the Cadair Idris in Snowdonia standing at 886 metres above sea level.

Nick and Karl embarked on the trek dressed as ‘glamorous grannies’ - donning wigs, tights, and dresses to climb the famous peak and raise money for those with dementia. Dementia is a disease which most commonly affects those aged 65 and over and 65% of the 944,000 people living with dementia in the UK are women*. The pair completed the mountain trek in six hours, carrying an Alliance Healthcare medicines cool box weighing over 35 kg. They have so far raised over £1,500 for Alzheimer’s Society, a cause close to Nick Atkins’s heart.

Alzheimer’s Society is a national care and research charity for people with dementia and their carers. The charity comprises trusted experts, campaigners, researchers, and clinicians who are attempting to tackle the biggest challenges facing people living with dementia. Alzheimer’s Society Cymru is the only UK dementia charity to fund both biomedical and care research.

Alzheimer’s Society Cymru, said:

“Alzheimer’s Society Cymru is delighted that Nick and Karl from Alliance Healthcare scaled Pen Y Fan as ‘glamourous grannies’ to raise funds and awareness, particularly when Nick is directly affected by dementia. With over 50,000 people living with dementia in Wales and 900,000 across the UK, there has never been more important time to support our work.

“Alzheimer’s Society Cymru relies on the generosity of its supporters, like Nick and Karl and Alliance Healthcare, to help us continue our vital work, providing help and hope for people affected by dementia. We cannot thank Nick and Karl enough for their amazing efforts to support Alzheimer’s Society Cymru.”

Nick Atkins, Swansea Service Centre Manager, said:

“We decided to dress up as glamorous elderly ladies to bring attention to the demographic that are most affected by the disease. Raising money for Alzheimer’s Society is very close to my heart as my mother is currently in the later stages of this horrible disease. It’s great that every penny raised through this event will go to such a worthy cause.”

Karl Goodall, Swansea Driver Team Manager, said:

“After doing many charity events previously I now needed a different challenge. When Nick and I spontaneously came up with this unique idea I knew it would be a sure way to raise money and awareness for such a great cause!”

You can still donate to their cause by visiting the following link: Fundraiser by Nicholas Atkins : The Betty & Edna Mountain Climb (gofundme.com)

If you need help, visit alzheimers.org.uk or call 0333 150 3456 to speak to one of Alzheimer’s Society Cymru’s expert dementia Advisers.

Class 2 recall-Sodiofolin 50 mg/ml solution for injection/infusion

medac GmbH (t/a medac Pharma LLP) is recalling the products and respective batches in this notification due to particles detected during long-term stability tests.

MHRA drug alert date: 20th July 2023

MHRA drug alert link: https://www.gov.uk/drug-device-alerts/class-2-medicines-recall-medac-gmbh-t-slash-a-medac-pharma-llp-sodiofolin-50-mg-slash-ml-solution-for-injection-slash-infusion-400mg-slash-8ml-vial-el-23-a-slash-26?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=govuk-notifications-topic&utm_source=f7cf9bf8-abed-479c-8071-de26a4cdf913&utm_content=immediately

Further Information

For all medical enquiries, please contact medical information at medac Pharma LLP by email to info@medacpharma.co.uk or by telephone 01786 458086.

Please return all affected stock to your original supplier for credit. Unfortunately we can only accept stock purchased from us (Alliance Healthcare Distribution Limited). Any other stock will be returned to your stores/Pharmacies.

National Patient Safety Alert: Shortage of GLP-1 receptor agonists

Message on behalf of DHSC and NHS as at 18 July 2023

The Department of Health Social Care (DHSC) and NHS have released a national patient safety alert in relation to a shortage of GLP-1 receptor agonists. 
 
The DHSC and NHS have said there are very limited, intermittent supplies of all glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs). Supplies are not expected to stabilise to meet full market demand until at least mid-2024. 
 
Please see listed below the GLP-1RAs affected:
 
Semaglutide injection and tablets: 
• Ozempic® 0.25 mg, 0.5mg and 1mg solution for injection in pre-filled pen 
• Rybelsus® 3mg, 7mg and 14mg tablets 
 
Dulaglutide: 
• Trulicity® 0.75 mg, 1.5mg, 3mg and 4.5mg solution for injection in pre-filled pens 
 
Liraglutide: 
• Victoza® 6mg/ml solution for injection in prefilled pen 
• Saxenda® 6mg/ml solution for injection in prefilled pen [licensed for weight management]
 
Exenatide: 
• Byetta® 5micrograms/0.02ml and 10micrograms/0.04ml solution for injection 1.2ml pre-filled pens 
• Bydureon® 2mg/0.85ml prolonged-release suspension for injection 1.2ml pre-filled pens
 
The off-label use of relevant agents for the management of obesity is strongly discouraged. Existing stock must be conserved for use in patients with diabetes. These shortages have serious clinical implications in the management of patients with type 2 diabetes.
 
For additional information and guidance, please find the link to the announcement here: CAS-ViewAlert (mhra.gov.uk)
 

Class 2 recall-Sabril Tablest & Sachets

Sanofi UK is recalling the listed batches of Sabril tablets and Sabril granules as a precautionary measure due to the detection of traces of tiapride in the batches of the source material of manufacturer for vigabatrin.

MHRA drug alert date: 13th July 2023

MHRA drug alert link: https://www.gov.uk/drug-device-alerts/class-2-medicines-recall-aventis-pharma-limited-t-slash-a-sanofi-sabril-500-mg-film-coated-tablets-and-sabril-500-mg-granules-for-oral-solution-el-23-a-slash-25?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=govuk-notifications-topic&utm_source=94be4cc6-3f3c-4a30-93a1-c5282da420d6&utm_content=immediately

Further Information

For stock control enquiries please contact GB-CustomerServices@sanofi.com or via telephone: 0800 854 430. For more information or medical information at uk-medicalinformation@sanofi.com or via telephone: 0800 035 25 25.

Please return all affected stock to your original supplier for credit. Unfortunately we can only accept stock purchased from us (Alliance Healthcare Distribution Limited). Any other stock will be returned to your stores/Pharmacies.

Supporting the NHS – a Q&A with Kara Richards, Alcura nurse

Earlier this month we celebrated 75 years of the NHS. This prompted us to take a closer look at how we support our amazing National Health Service. In the first of a series of three interviews with Alliance Healthcare team members – we caught up with Kara Richards one of our Alcura nurses.

Alcura supports the NHS with both straightforward and complex patient needs through a comprehensive end-to-end service, to enable patients to receive care out of the hospital environment. 

Kara is the Operations Manager for the field team and manages the Alcura nursing team on a day-to-day basis. The team consists of 45 registered nurses who provide service to patients from NHS trusts across the whole of the UK.

As a registered nurse herself, Kara did her training at a hospital in Milton Keynes and has worked in various areas across the NHS covering all aspects of nursing in hospitals, the community, as well as the private sector supporting the NHS. She has always supported NHS patients and worked with the organisation to manage their care of patients by providing additional support and resources. 

When asked how she would sum up her experience of working with the NHS, Kara said:

“I started my career in the NHS and its where my true passion for nursing started. I think it's a fantastic organisation and I am very proud to have worked with them and of the support that we (Alcura) are able to offer them. Any help that we're able to give to support and work collaboratively within the NHS is just a positive thing. It would also be great to grow and innovate what we can offer to the NHS, the work that we do is very beneficial to our communities.”

Do you have one person you link to at the NHS or are you all inter linked?

“We deal directly with them and the clinical teams will have a contact escalation matrix if there are any issues they need to raise. I speak to the clinical nurse teams, the clinical home care pharmacists, consultants, and clinicians. We have review meetings for some of our services on a regular basis just to ensure that the service we're providing is suitable. We also work closely with our hospital account managers and the commercial and manufacturing account managers - communication between the two teams is important and done well.”

What was your experience of working and supporting the NHS during the pandemic?

“I worked in the field team as the pandemic started and we managed to continue all the services we provided pre-COVID without any disruption. The patients we cared for were very vulnerable, immunosuppressed and couldn’t go into clinics as they would do normally, so we played a vital role at that stage. Alcura nurses provided a continuous feedback link with the Trust, writing up detailed reviews of their patients, letting the NHS know if there were any clinical issues that needed escalating or raising. 

It wasn’t just about the physical giving of the medication but also the holistic, safeguarding, and mental health care too. It was a really difficult time for those in hospital as they were facing COVID head on, so we were able to really support those patients that were vulnerable in the community that may have not been monitored as closely. The support we got from the NHS and from the PPE suppliers meant that our nurses could continue working. I was told there was no delay in any treatment during that whole time frame. We just continued to follow NHS England guidelines and worked with the NCHA to ensure that our nurses stayed safe.”

How did you celebrate the milestone Birthday at Alliance Healthcare?

“We had tea and cake stations around the building as we joined in with the NHS Big Tea to celebrate. We also raised money for NHS charities and team members joined in with ‘wear it blue’ day.”
 

Class 4 Caution in use- Various products

Cipla (EU) Limited, UK and Pharmathen S.A. have informed the MHRA that the outer carton (box) of the product batches mentioned in this notification are missing the medicines legal classification for a Prescription Only Medicine (POM).

MHRA drug alert date: 13th July 2023

MHRA drug alert link:https://www.gov.uk/drug-device-alerts/class-4-medicines-notification-cipla-uk-limited-and-pharmathen-s-dot-a-various-products-el-23-a24?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=govuk-notifications-topic&utm_source=b6c0ae7e-abfa-4f60-9c6b-067b05d5984f&utm_content=immediately

This is a caution in use only we are not accepting stock returns

Further Information

Cipla (UK) Limited

For more information regarding Cipla (EU) Limited, UK products, medical or supply enquiries, please contact telephone: +44 (0) 800 047 2144 or via email: drugsafety@Cipla.com & Uk.info@Cipla.com

Pharmathen S.A

For more information regarding Pharmathen S.A products, medical or supply enquiries, please contact telephone: +30 210 6604300 or via email: pharmacovigilance@pharmathen.com & info@pharmathen.com

Class 2 recall-Labetelol 200mg tablets

Tillomed Laboratories Limited is recalling one batch of Labetalol 200mg Tablets due to an error on the foil blister packaging.

MHRA drug alert date: 10th July 2023

MHRA Drug alert link:https://www.gov.uk/drug-device-alerts/class-2-medicines-recall-tillomed-laboratories-limited-labetalol-200mg-tablets-el-23-a-slash-23?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=govuk-notifications-topic&utm_source=bc26380b-3aac-4997-a8ec-fb2dbd985b2b&utm_content=immediately

For all medical enquiries, please contact medical information at Tillomed Laboratories Limited by email to medical.information@tillomed.co.uk or PVUK@tillomed.co.uk or by telephone +44 (0)1480 402 400

Please return all affected stock to your original supplier for credit. Unfortunately we can only accept stock purchased from us (Alliance Healthcare Distribution Limited). Any other stock will be returned to your stores/Pharmacies.