Mum’s anger as asthmatic son refused vital inhaler

Unhappy: Nicola Tickle with her son Connor (10)

A BOY of 10 was refused a “lifesaving” asthma inhaler on a repeat prescription after being told he was overusing it.

Connor Tickle has suffered with chronic brittle asthma from the age of two and since then has always received the blue ventolin inhaler on prescription.

But his mother, Nicola, said she was livid when she went to collect his medication at Lloyds Pharmacy only to find it had been taken off the prescription without her knowledge.

The computer system at Glodwick Health Centre said that “on a law of averages” Connor was overusing his inhaler.

Ms Tickle, of Rivington Street, Oldham Edge, said: “My GP is undermining me as a patient as I was not told about this. I know there is a repeat prescription review going on, but my son is on special care at the children’s hospital in Manchester. Sometimes he takes only eight puffs a day, but sometimes it’s about 32 as his condition is very bad.

“It’s a good job I checked the bags from the pharmacy because we could have got home and not had one. It’s his lifesaving medication.”

She said Connor relies heavily on the inhaler and if he had left it at school or lost it, an attack could have put him in hospital accident and emergency. After an asthma attack the blue inhaler can be used as a nebuliser until an ambulance arrives.

Ms Tickle — who likened the situation to a diabetic being refused insulin — said the prescription covers him for forthcoming months and with the Christmas holidays she had hoped to collect the medication sooner.

Dr Zuber Ahmed, GP at Sun Valley Medical Practice, said he was sorry to hear that Ms Tickle was unhappy with the care her son received. He added: “I always strive to deliver the very best services for my patients and their health and safety is my absolute priority. This is a responsibility that I take extremely seriously.

“In order to ensure patients’ health and safety in relation to repeat prescriptions, it’s important that they regularly see their GP to make sure their medication is right for them. This is particularly important when a patient is using more than would usually be expected, so the GP can understand why and look at better alternatives.

“We have an electronic system in place that highlights when there are potential issues with a patient’s repeat prescription and alerts us, so we can invite them to come in for a review.

“The practice is happy to see patients on the same day for such reviews, if necessary.”

He added that he was more than happy to discuss Ms Tickle’s concerns.