A man with epilepsy died in a fall after his pharmacy reportedly left him an “IOU” for his prescribed medication when it ran out of an anti-epileptic drug.
David Crompton, a 44-year-old man in Leeds, died on 13 December after a fall downstairs resulted in a loss of oxygen to his brain and a cardiac arrest.
A coroner’s report on Crompton’s death, originally reported in P3Pharmacy, found that his epilepsy was a contributing factor, as he was prescribed Tegretol but left without the medication after his pharmacy, Midway Pharmacy in Pudsey, was unable to supply it.
It was the second time he had been left without the drug after the pharmacy was unable to supply it. The first was in April 2024, when Crompton was left without medication for about 10 days, during which time he had a first fall.
The West Yorkshire senior coroner Kevin McLoughlin said in his report: “The evidence given by family members at the inquest was that when the pharmacy was unable to supply the prescribed Tegretol medication, it was left to them to contact other pharmacies to see if they could obtain it, rather than for the pharmacy to search for supplies.
“The inquest was informed that following the April 2024 episode, hospital specialists commented [to Mr Crompton] that the absence of Tegretol for around 10 days ‘will likely have contributed to your seizure activity’. It is questionable whether lessons were learned from this potentially dangerous interval.”
In May 2024, the Department of Health and Social Care issued a supply notification for Tegretol 100mg/5ml liquid, with its manufacturer, Novartis, saying that some supplies were available but “it may take some time for supply to return to normal levels”.
In January last year, it was reported that an unprecedented medicines shortage in the NHS was endangering lives, as unpublished figures revealed the number of products in short supply had doubled in two years.
Clare Pelham, the chief executive of the Epilepsy Society, said: “How can it be the case that sadly someone dies as a result of a medicines shortage in the UK? We have been warning for months of the worst and most extreme outcome that medication shortages can have for people with epilepsy.
“I hope that David’s sad death will be what it takes to prompt the government to take action now. As Winston Churchill famously said: we need action this day.
“We need a taskforce with strong leadership and accountability. Charities and people across the pharmaceutical industry and supply chain are only too willing to lend their expertise and I hope health secretary Wes Streeting will recognise the importance of acting now.”
Midway Pharmacy has been approached for comment.
Article by:Source Tobi Thomas Health and inequalities correspondent
