Coronavirus: Asthma patient's mum 'scared' by inhaler shortage

Kylie Holmes could not find the find brown preventer inhaler for her daughter, who was close to running out.

A mother-of-four said she was brought to tears by her struggles to get an inhaler for her asthmatic daughter during the coronavirus lockdown.

Kylie Holmes could not find a brown preventer inhaler for seven-year-old Ruby, who was close to running out.

The British Lung Foundation confirmed there was a national shortage of the Clenil Modulite inhaler.

The charity urged patients not to stockpile the medication during the coronavirus outbreak.

Last Friday, Mrs Holmes, who lives in St Neots, Cambridgeshire, realised her daughter's preventer inhaler had nearly run out. She called her GP, who sent through a prescription.

Seven-year-old Ruby was diagnosed with asthma as a baby

However, her pharmacy said it had none of the inhalers in stock and had a backlog of people waiting for one.

• Coronavirus live page: Updates from across the East of England

On Saturday morning, Mrs Holmes called her local walk-in centre, who issued another prescription for a similar inhaler, which she was told she should be able to get more easily. Unfortunately, her pharmacy had also run out of that equivalent inhaler.

She went to several other pharmacies before she finally managed to track one down.

Some people with asthma are struggling to get hold of the preventer inhaler, Clenil Modulite

"I felt bad as a mum, that I wasn't prepared for it. I was in tears and I started to panic we might never be able to get one.

"I am a single mother of four children and this is a stressful enough time as it is, without this extra worry.

"For anyone stockpiling, please stop. This is not like toilet paper or pasta, this is a vital medicine," she said.

• Why are people stealing hospital supplies?

• What are ventilators and how do they work?

• Ocado buys 100,000 coronavirus test kits

The manufacturer Chiesi said its Clenil Modulite 100 microgram inhalers would face intermittent supply problems over the next month.

Sarah MacFayden, head of policy and public affairs at The British Lung Foundation, which recently merged with Asthma UK, confirmed the charity had received reports of people with lung conditions struggling to obtain certain medicines.

A combination of very high demand and distribution problems had resulted in the shortage, she said.

"Supply issues have meant that some people with asthma have struggled to get hold of the preventer inhaler, Clenil Modulite 100 micrograms," she said.

"If your pharmacist doesn't stock this inhaler, they should offer you an equivalent alternative, which might involve your GP changing the prescription you have been given.

"In the meantime, we are urging everyone with lung conditions not to try to stockpile medicines during the coronavirus outbreak, get their prescriptions earlier than usual, or get more inhalers than they need.

"This won't be allowed and causes problems for others."

• A SIMPLE GUIDE: What are the symptoms?

• NEW GUIDANCE: What must I do?

• NEW RESTRICTIONS: What are they?

• LOOK-UP TOOL: Check cases in your area

• MAPS AND CHARTS: Visual guide to the outbreak