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Drug shortage

hits hospitals,

pharmacists, patients

Patients, pharmacies and hospitals in New Brunswick are feeling the ripple effects of a temporary stop in production by one of the country's largest medical drug producers, Sandoz Canada in Quebec.In Dieppe, pharmacist Dennis Abud said that he is running out of several medications, including injectable painkillers like morphine. The shortage has been affecting his patients.

Abud said that in some cases he has managed to provide patients with the drugs they need, but not in a timely fashion."My staff got together and did a couple of phone calls and figured out a way to get it to the patient. But I don't know if that patient waited in pain for a while."Sandoz Canada — one of the country's leading suppliers of generic cancer and heart medications — announced in late February that it was temporarily suspending production at its Boucherville, Que., facility.

Sandoz has scaled back production of certain drugs — mostly painkillers, antibiotics and anaesthetics — to upgrade operations after quality-control assessments by the FDA warned the factory fell short of its standards.To exacerbate supply concerns, a fire Sunday in the ceiling above the boiler room of Sandoz's Boucherville plant has halted all production until at least Monday, and the company says it is assessing any impact to product supply.

"I got on the phone and tried to order some new product and it was already too late," Abud said. "It's been really frustrating for pharmacists."John Staples, a Moncton pharmacist, said that the problem is not new. "It's been going on for two years," he said. "Sometimes they say there's none anywhere in the city."

Both health networks in New Brunswick are keeping a close eye on the situation."It is an exhaustive process. We've got pharmacists and administrative staff at all of our hospitals, going through all of our inventory numbers, looking at all the specific medications," said Luc Foulem, a spokesperson for Vitalite Health Network."So if we do have a situation where we would have a possible shortage we could identify alternatives."

Hospitals and pharmacies borrow and buy medications from each other, but when supply and demand don't match up there are no alternatives available."There's no life threatening medications involved at this point in time. But it's very much an inconvenience," Staples said.A spokesperson from the province said that the Department of Health is working with the federal government and other provinces on the shortage issue.

Last week, Dr. Robert Cushman, director general biologic and genetic therapies at Health Canada, told CBC News that Health Canada is in constant dialogue with Sandoz and other manufacturers, as well as the provinces and hospitals."We can fast-track these alternate sources, but ... we have to look at the plant, the source, the medication … we understand it’s incumbent to do this as quickly as possible while guaranteeing safety," Cushman said.

Buying second hand

doesn’t add up

Stop dreaming of how your home could look and buy your dream property at Hillside Park in Stoke with help from Elan Homes.Featuring a selection of three and four-bedroom homes, Hillside Park is the ideal choice for families looking for a new home in the Norton area.Elan invests great care and attention to detail into all of its homes with stylish, modern appliances and the best fixtures and fittings throughout.

Marie Morris, sales director for Elan Homes in the north, explains: “Hillside Park is really starting to take shape and visitors can get a real feel for the development now as there’s more for them to see – in fact we can now show them around a finished example of each house type. Being able to view a property really fires up people’s imaginations and enables them to visualise how their belongings would look and what life could be like in a new home.”

Prices at Hillside Park range from £124,995 for a Cheltenham style home with three bedrooms, to £199,995 for the final four-bedroom property in the current phase.The four-bedroom Malvern is spacious family home featuring an open plan layout with combined kitchen, dining area and family room, separate lounge and cloaks to the ground floor; upstairs the en-suite shower room to the master bedroom complements the family bathroom.“When you compare the cost of repairing, renovating and running an older property to buying a new one, buying second hand simply doesn’t add up,” Marie adds.

“Instead of seeing the potential of an older property and maybe having to knock down walls and replace the kitchen cabinets, bathroom suite or heating system, our customers can buy their dream home and move in almost straight away.”The homes at Hillside Park don’t just look great, but are practical too. As they are built to impressively high insulation standards, they are more energy efficient and therefore should be cheaper to run than a second hand property.

“The standard specification includes the latest energy efficient boilers, window panes made from coated glass to keep rooms warmer in winter and cooler in summer, with low energy light bulbs and low energy appliances selected for quality and visual appeal,” Marie said.Hillside Park is just a few minutes away from the Staffordshire and Peak District countryside yet is well placed for commuting thanks to easy access to the M6. Residents can enjoy shopping and leisure facilities in nearby Stoke, Leek, Ashbourne or Uttoxeter.To discover more about the homes available at Hillside Park, visit elan-homes.co.uk.