A RAGLAN is calling on the government to act after being left unable to access the medication he needs due to a shortage that has lasted nearly a year.
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Ted Kelly suffers from heart problems, having undergone significant bypass surgery 25 years ago, and has relied on Anginine to ease chest pains.
The medication, in the form of a tablet, can be taken as needed to help get oxygen into the heart.
In May 2017, Mr Kelly went to his usual pharmacy but found he was no longer able to buy the tablets.
Mr Kelly said his chemist had told him that he was unable to source the tablets but would keep trying.
Mr Kelly also asked a friend in Sydney to check his pharmacy for Anginine, but they too were out of stock.
He has since been forced to use Nitrolingual Pump Spray.
The spray does the same thing as Anginine, but Mr Kelly is not comfortable with this method of pain relief.
“It’s a gel that I can’t stand," he said.
Mr Kelly contacted federal Member for Calare, Andrew Gee, last May to see if he could provide any answers.
“I rang up Andrew Gee about it and he wrote a letter to (Greg) Hunt, he’s the Minister for Health,” he said. “The minister wrote me back and said it would be looked at months ago.”
In the letter, addressed to Mr Gee and received on June 28, Mr Hunt said the shortage of Anginine “has been known for some time” and was expected to be resolved on October 16, 2017.
“While pharmaceutical companies aim to maintain continuity of medicine supply there may be occasions where the supply of a particular medicine may be disrupted,” he wrote.
“In some circumstances, disruptions to supply cannot be avoided.”
As of the end of February, the shortage had not been resolved and Mr Kelly has received no further information since July.
“It is a disappointment that the government is not looking further into it,” Mr Kelly said. “It’s just an upsetting situation.”
