|
|
HSE approves coronavirus advice: ASI calls on people in Donegal to
refrain from stockpiling medications
20.03.20
THE Asthma Society of
Ireland (ASI) is today assuring the 12,408 people
with asthma and the 17,511 people with COPD in
Donegal that there is no national shortage of asthma
and COPD medication and appealing to patients to
refrain from stockpiling medications during the
current coronavirus pandemic.
Sarah O’Connor, CEO of the Asthma Society of
Ireland, said: “The Asthma Society has been liaising
closely with the IPU, the HSE, the Department of
Health and with various pharmaceutical companies who
have reassured us that there is a good stock of
asthma and COPD medications in Ireland. There is no
need to order extra medicines than you need for the
coming month. This will affect the supply of
medicines for others. There is no disruption to the
supply of medicines – our Irish supply chains are
well-stocked, established and reliable.
Over the past two weeks, we’ve had people with
asthma and/or COPD reaching out to us expressing
their concerns that some pharmacies are running out
of medications for asthma and COPD. But there is no
need to be concerned about this. Re-stocking of
pharmacies with these medications was delayed over
the weekend due to people with respiratory illnesses
panic-buying medications to last several months in
recent weeks. We have been reassured that this minor
delay was temporary and has been resolved with
deliveries to pharmacies in recent days.
Although it is very important to ensure you have
enough medication to comply with instructions given
by your doctor, at this current critical time, we
are calling on our people with respiratory illnesses
to please ensure they only purchase enough
medication for one month. 'Panic buying' in this
manner is resulting in others with respiratory
illnesses unable to access essential medication.
During this uncertain time, please be considerate of
others.” |
The HSE’s National
Clinical Respiratory Programme and the Asthma
Society are advising all people with asthma and COPD
to visit
www.asthma.ie for questions in relations to
coronavirus and their condition.
Des Murphy, Clinical Lead of the National Clinical
Respiratory Programme, said: “We are delighted to
approve the Asthma Society’s coronavirus page on
Asthma.ie as a trusted resource for people with
asthma and COPD.
It is extremely important that people with asthma
and/or COPD do everything possible during the
current coronavirus pandemic to ensure their
condition is managed as well as possible. The Asthma
Society’s coronavirus page also contains some great
resources for asthma and COPD management.”
The Asthma Society is also warning people with
asthma and/or COPD to only trust reputable sources
for information/advice on their condition(s). This
warning comes following a number stories containing
false medical information came to light this week.
Sarah O’Connor, added: “It is of the utmost
importance that patients only look to reputable
sources for any information/advice people with
asthma and/or COPD. The Asthma Society of Ireland’s
website www.asthma.ie
hosts specific information for people with asthma
and/or COPD on the coronavirus. It contains a
comprehensive ‘Frequently Asked Questions’ section
which answers the most common questions on the
coronavirus, along with some very specific ones,
along with essential information on how to manage
your asthma and/or COPD at this time. All
information on our coronavirus pages has been
reviewed and approved by the HSE and by the HSE’s
National Clinical Respiratory Programme.
We are also urging people to ensure any information
they share themselves is from a reliable source. The
spreading of misinformation on asthma/COPD
management may put lives at risk and causes
unnecessary fear and distress to patients and their
families. During the past week, we noticed that a
lot of people on social media were advising others
to avoid taking their preventive inhaler steroids.
The HSE has advised that patients with long-term
illnesses should continue taking their prescribed
medications unless advised otherwise by their
healthcare professional.”
Des Murphy, added: "Over the past two weeks there
has been false information making its way around
social media advising people with asthma and COPD to
avoid taking preventative steroids for their
condition. It is extremely important at this time
that people with asthma and/or COPD continue to take
their preventative medication as advised by your
healthcare professional unless he/she advises them
not to do so. Failing to do so could result in an
unnecessary asthma attack, which for some, prove
fatal.
The Asthma Society’s Asthma and COPD Adviceline is
currently experiencing an unprecedented volume of
calls in relation to the coronavirus."
Sarah O’Connor, concluded: “We are inundated with
calls to our office and our free Adviceline service
about the coronavirus. We are endeavouring to
respond as quickly as possible, but there are
delays. Please bear with us. We know how worried you
are and we want to give you all the advice we can.” |
|
