Medical charity appeals to pharmacists to donate supplies of medicines and equipment for Asian Earthquake
A UK charity, organising teams of doctors going to areas affected by the Asian earthquake, launched an appeal for medicines and medical equipment last week.
Pharmacist Sadia Qayyum-Siddique is coordinating the appeal on behalf
of the Association of Pakistani Physicians
and Surgeons in the UK.
It is seeking donations of drugs, including amoxicillin, ciprofloxacin,
gentamicin eye drops, hydrocortisone ointment, nalidixic acid, povidine
solution and velosef, as well as analgesics, antibiotic creams, anti-diarrhoea
and anti-malarial drugs, oral rehydration solutions, saline intravenous
fluid bags and tetanus toxoid injections. APPS UK is also appealing for
donations of basic medical equipment, such as alcohol swabs and wound
dressings. Individuals and companies wishing to donate can contact Mrs
Qayyum-Siddique on 0845 200 8233 or 07968 128972 (e-mail admin@appsuk.org).
The Royal Pharmaceutical Society’s guidance on the export of prescription-only
medicines advises that drug donations to affected areas are only acceptable
if obsolete and returned medicines are not included, only drugs with
a shelf life of over a year are collected, a specific list of required
medicines is provided by the recipient and arrangements are made for
collection, sorting and disposal of medicines not required. It may be
useful, the Society suggests, to consult the World Health Organization’s
guidelines for drug donations, which are available
here, along with the
Society’s
advice on the legality of exporting prescription-only medicines. |
The
Pharmaceutical Journal
Acrobat
Reader