+xHi, wondering if anyone has any advice on how to obtain prescription / controlled drugs in UK to make up an emergency medical kit? We are preparing for our qualifying voyage and are reluctant to purchase expensive MSOS or similar kits just to obtain the drugs as we have most of the other stuff in the list already or in hand. Our local GP services are struggling like much of the NHS and having difficulty processing an out of the ordinary request. Grateful for any other tips or strategies others may have used. Or we will take some personal development time camping at the Surgery! Many thanks for your time.
Success! Replying to my own post with advice to others which I hope will be useful. Firstly a thank you to Club Sec Rachelle Turk who first pointed out that in UK the Master and Owner of a ship are entitled to requisition drugs for medical kits. I contacted the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (
medical@mcga.gov.uk) who provided the necessary regulatory instruments. The Merchant Shipping (Medical Stores) Regulations 1995 states the regulatory requirements to meet Category A requirements as set out in Merchant Shipping Notice M. 1607 (
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1085125/MSN_1905__M+F__Amendment_2_Ships__medical_stores.pdf); to meet these regulation The Human Medicines Regulations 2012, contains Schedule 17 which provides a ship's Master the authority to requisition prescription only medication whilst the Misue of Drugs Act 1971 as amended (
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2001/3998/) provides the regulations for control, record keeping, use and disposal of controlled drugs by a Ship's Master. Despite this my GP's surgery pharmacy was unable to supply drugs to me due to local NHS policies and I was very fortunate in speaking to the NHS prescription administration authorities who put me in touch with Andrew Hobson a senior pharmacist at Gompels Pharmacy in Melksham (
andrew.hobson@gompels.com) who could not have been more helpful. I needed to provide my RYA / DOT Certification and Ship's papers and it all became very easy. Of course it should not be easy to obtained controlled drugs, but I do feel the process for sailors to obtain them where a legitimate need, not to say a regulatory requirement, exists the process should be less of a black art than it seems to be; it took me 4 months to navigate to this point and most people I have spoken to have relied upon 'GP friends' rather than an established system. Again could be because I live 50 miles from the sea, or that I have made excessively heavy weather of the whole thing, but in case the above is of use it is, I believe the appropriate system. And finally, to my great surprise my local Boots has since come back to me, after seeking advice from Head Office, and also offered to supply. So perhaps it really is not that difficult after all!