Letters to the editor from a protesting group are commonplace, and fair enough – I’ve been involved in lots either as co-initiator or signatory. One slightly odd one appeared last week in the Times.
Patient wellbeing at risk from substituted generic medicines
It seemed innocuous enough – a group of doctors, nurses and patient groups complaining about the possibility that the Department of Health may stop allowing branded prescriptions.
One of the possibilities up for discussion in the current consultation is that branded prescriptions are switched by the pharmacist to generic, cheaper alternatives.
This group expressed their dismay “We believe that this could still compromise patient safety, and that the cost of implementation could outweigh any savings”.
Opinions are a right, but one always wonders why they might be held.
What I also don’t like is that what seemed to me to be a spontaneous letter from different groups was co-ordinated by a PR company acting for a pharmaceutical company and the company itself. These organisations got in touch with some signatories directly, inviting them to sign. This seems less than ideally transparent.
Margaret McCartney
Clive Cookson
Andrew Jack