Faulty inhaler

[bronnie]

Hi

Wonder if you could advise?

My (adult) daughter has an Easi-Breathe inhaler. After a very few uses, it stopped dispensing the medication. She returned it to the pharmacy (independent) from which it was dispensed to explain and was told by the pharmacist that he could do nothing and sher should get another prescription and would have to pay a further prescription charge for a replacement.

With any other goods, I would say the item was not "fit for purpose" and therefore would expect to be entitled to a replacement without charge. Can anyone clarify the situation with regard to prescription-only items that are faulty.

Many thanks
Bron

[cymru72]

At the very least, the pharmacist concerned should have offered to contact the drug manufacturer with a view for them to look at it and possibly arrange for a replacement. I personally would have checked the inhaler, and if it was only dispensed a day or so ago and clearly wasn't working, then I would swap the inhaler over myself.

As an aside, have you unscrewed the unit and tried triggering the unit manually? With the easibreathes you can unscrew the top of the inhaler to reveal the gas canister. If you press down on the top then the unit will operate like a normal inhaler, rather than an easibreath breath actuated inhaler. This can show whether the whole unit is faulty or not. Also, try washing the canister in warm water as sometimes the opening can get blocked with drug residue, or carefully use a pin!

[johnep]

One thing should be made clear. The NHS charge is a TAX on a prescription and has nothing to do with the item dispensed, faulty or otherwise. If an item appears to be faulty. check as advised, then take back to where dispensed. Some pts think that they can return the faulty item to any chemist.
johnep

[bronnie]

Thank you both for your replies.

According to Consumer Direct, I learnt earlier, these pharmacy items are also covered by the Sale of Goods Act, so a faulty inhaler should have been replaced.


The details of my daughter's prescription for this item were on the pharmacy computer. She is not in the habit of being a difficult customer!

I returned to the pharmacy to discuss this again. The pharmacist was very grudging and reluctant to assist, but eventually he phoned the manufacturer and then issued a replacement.

Thanks again for your input.

[DavidS]

A lot depends when the inhaler was issued, and of course the pharmacist has a need to confirm that the item is faulty, and not just used up: so if it had been dispensed within a few day its completely different than if it was a month or two ago, even if you daughter hadn't used it.

Anyway, it's sorted, so good.

[bronnie]

Hi!

As a general point, I understand what you say about when it was dispensed, but in fairness to the patient, these inhalers are for use "as required". Now it can be the case that the patient's asthma is not troublesome for a few months meaning the inhaler is not used. Also patients are advised to keep a spare inhaler for emergencies, (such as if their Easi-Breathe fails to work!!) but this may also sit in a drawer unused for a few months after dispensing.

It is possibly to tell the difference between a barely used cannister and a practically empty one I think (and a genuine customer and a scammer?)

From a customer point of view, I believe the item should be fully functional until the drug cannister is empty or it is faulty. It is a potential serious risk to the patient otherwise. I don't think date of dispensing should necessarily be relevant, as long as the inhaler is still within date itself

[Sir_Dispensalot]

From a customer point of view, I believe the item should be fully functional until the drug cannister is empty or it is faulty. It is a potential serious risk to the patient otherwise. I don't think date of dispensing should necessarily be relevant, as long as the inhaler is still within date itself

From a customer point of view, you are quite right to assume that an item should be fully functional when it is called upon for use.
However, some drug delivery systems are delicate, precision devices and as such can be highly sensitive to temperature change, knocking and even static electricity. In most home environments this is thankfully rare and one would expect in this case for your inhaler to work as expected.
As a pharmacist, i have received returned inhalers fairly regularly from patients, the vast majority of which are simply blocked with a little excess drug, and just need a rinse with plain hot water. I also get used ones returned to me, often covered in old food, blood and goodness knows what else with a patient claiming they are faulty.

This is part of the reasons why a returned medicine cannot be re-used for someone else - we cannot guarantee the safety or efficacy of a product once it has left the pharmacy for an extended period of time because we cannot guarantee suitable storage conditions.

We don't know all the ins and outs of your situation however it seems that in your case the inhaler was almost certainly faulty, and if it was the same pharmacy you got it from then they should have swapped it for a working one for you. Maybe you were unlucky and got the tired/grumpy/inexperienced pharmacist that day.

I would point out for other situations such as a patient wanting a refund for a medication that doesn't work as intended or has too many side effects then the sale of goods act does not apply. In this persons case the inhaler is most likely faulty and that is covered under the sales of goods act.

[bronnie]

Interesting to read your points. Thank you all.

[DavidS]

It is possibly to tell the difference between a barely used cannister and a practically empty one I think (and a genuine customer and a scammer?)

Lol, fair comments, customer scammers for a salbutamol easibreathe is stretching imagination a bit far, but it isn't always possible to tell the difference between a co-operative manufacturer and wholesaler, and an unco-operative one.

There are lots of inhalers which would retail at £100 including cost, mark-up and VAT, and if the manufacturer isn't going to accept the return it could be quite a penalty.

Salbutamol easibreathe isn't so expensive, it's retail value would be around £11, but you do still have to do a fair bit of work for that too.

[Pharmanaut]

Difficult for us lot to give an opinion on.
Generally we would look at the PMR to check issue history, and then the BN/Expiry of the product against the stock.
We always assume that patients concerns are genuine and we will do everything we can to help.
Though, please Bonnie, be aware that we do get some people across the threshold who aren't what they seem.