A dad has hit out at a Clydebank medical practice after he was told a lifesaving drug for his daughter would no longer be prescribed to her.
The 32-year-old had been collecting medicine for his daughter for two years before the practice stopped prescribing it recently.
At just nine months old, his baby was diagnosed with biliary atresia and had to undergo an emergency liver transplant from her mum.
She then lived in the hospital for two and a half years before the right ‘cocktail’ of drugs could allow her to go home.
The combination of drugs which allow the now four-year-old girl to live a normal life includes Tacrolimus, an immunosuppressive drug that is known to have some side effects.
He says it needs to be given at the exact times of 8am and 8pm or his daughter goes downhill fast.
The Green Medical Practice at Clydebank Health and Care Centre had prescribed the ‘lifesaving’ drug for two years before the dad received a phone call from the practice saying they would no longer be offering it to patients.
The dad claims the GP making this decision told him that Tacrolimus was being prescribed as an accident and that it’s a policy that no one at the centre can receive it.
The man then sought out the help of their hospital team where his daughter goes for a check-up every three months and told them of the issue.
The team had said this was the first case they had seen of Tacrolimus not being prescribed and got in touch with the practice, but it didn’t help.
Her dad said: “It's just an unneeded unnecessary stress. I should be able to rely on getting all of our meds from my health centre that is two minutes down the street and delivered to my chemist that is right outside my front door as opposed to having a go to the hospital.
“She gets six or seven medications and this is the only one that they are now saying that they shouldn't be giving her.
“These medicines are absolutely necessary, these medicines keep her stable and they keep her out of hospital. She was in hospital for two and a half years and it took the doctors months to find out exactly what cocktail she needed to keep her stable because she is very, very fragile.”
Now, the medicine is prescribed from the hospital pharmacy which is a twenty-minute drive from their home and needs to be collected every month.
The dad added: “I think it's really frustrating. We should be able to trust our GP. We should have a really good relationship with them and we shouldn't be made to feel as if they're hiding something, or just not showing any care.
“She genuinely does require these medicines and if she runs out, she should be able to go straight back across the road and get them without having to go across the city, sit for hours in the hospital and wait due to delays that are associated with a busy hospital pharmacy.”
The dad says if he couldn’t get to the hospital he says it would risk putting his daughter's life in jeopardy.
He has now lodged a complaint with the practice which he says has been a slow and delayed process.
The Glasgow Times has made numerous attempts to contact the practice.
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