A PENSIONER was unable to collect vital medication for a week because of regional shortages of drugs.

David Stott, of Hartshill, visited two pharmacies in Newcastle a fortnight ago, but neither was able to provide his prescription for Irbesartan Coaprovel, which reduces high blood pressure.

The 69-year-old, pictured, of Longfield Road, eventually collected his tablets a week later.

Pharmacies across the region say they running out of various medicines as the falling value of Sterling against the Euro has seen wholesalers significantly increase exports to Europe in the last year.

"I was told I would be horrified at the sheer number of different drugs they are actually unable to get hold of," said Mr Stott. "The tablets are fairly crucial and if I were to stop taking them the symptoms and problems would obviously reappear."

Mr Stott had enough tablets to last another fortnight when he was turned away. But he remains concerned about supplies running low in future.

He added: "Clearly the drugs companies are putting profits before people."

David McMullen, owner of McMullen's pharmacy in Endon, said: "Irbesartan Coaprovel is one of the drugs we've had trouble getting.

"An awful lot of UK drugs are being exported now, because they're cheaper to buy here.

"The manufacturers have an emergency system for out-of-stock drugs, but that involves a lot of extra work for us and it still takes three days – if we're lucky."

Sean Woodward, regional spokesman for the Royal Pharmaceutical Society, said: "At first we tried to blame the manufacturers for not producing enough drugs. But they have the figures and they are making enough.

"The exporting is what creates the shortage. And it is frontline local pharmacies that bear the brunt because patients believe we are giving a second-rate service.

"It isn't specialist prescriptions, it's core medical supplies which treat things like blood pressure and diabetes."

A spokesman for AAH, a pharmaceutical supplier which provides Irbesaratan Coaprovel to various pharmacies in North Staffordshire, said: "Clearly it is not acceptable if patients cannot obtain the medicine they need."

A spokesman for Sanofi-Aventis, which manufactures Mr Stott's drug, said: "A combination of the pound devaluation and recent price reductions have resulted in the UK price of some medicines being significantly lower than other EU countries.

"This has resulted in some traders buying products to export to higher priced countries in Europe, leading to short-term supply issues for some medicines. This is an industry-wide issue."