Skip to content

This Site is Intended for Healthcare Professionals Only

Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Birmingham pharmacy charges £19.99 for bottle of Calpol, sparks outrage on Twitter over alleged 'profiteering'

A West Midlands-based pharmacy chain has been lambasted on social media for allegedly charging three times more than the normal price for a bottle of Calpol.

Councillor for Bromford and Hodge Hill ward in Birmingham Majid Mahmood on Wednesday night posted on Twitter a photo that showed bottles of the liquid paracetamol as advertised in a branch of Jhoots Pharmacy.


His tweet said a box of 32 paracetamol tablets, usually priced around £1, was being sold for £9.99 in the same branch.

A 200ml bottle of the infant medicine typically retails for around £6.50, while a 100ml bottle is sold for £3.50.

The pharmacy chain has blamed "an erroneous communication" for "pricing disparities at a small number of branches."

According to local media reports, the company has promised to refund overcharged customers, but there was continued fury over alleged "profiteering" on Twitter.

RealGaryWebster tweeted: "That is profiteering and illegal… Shocking behaviour. How does that help the poor, elderly or those on benefits??"

Another Twitter user Ibrahim wrote: "What an absolute disgrace, should be ashamed of themselves. Horrific example of profiteering at a time when people desperately look to pharmacies for help."

More For You

Alliance Healthcare team raises thousands with charity bike ride to Paris

The Alliance Healthcare team

Alliance Healthcare team raises thousands with charity bike ride to Paris

Eight Alliance Healthcare team members raised over £55,000 for Theodora Children’s Charity by cycling from Surrey to Paris.

From June 13th-15th, the team took on the gruelling 300 mile cross-border Tour D’Alliance 2025 challenge and raised vital funds to support children who may be living with serious health challenges through Theodora Children’s Charity’s Giggle Doctor programme.

Keep ReadingShow less
Over four million flu vaccines across England in the 2024/25 winter flu season.

Over four million flu vaccines across England in the 2024/25 winter flu season.

CCA release

Community pharmacy administered over four million flu vaccines

Community pharmacy administered over four million flu vaccines across England in the 2024/25 winter flu season, the highest outside of the pandemic, according to the Company Chemists’ Association.

This is nearly 10 per cent higher than the number of flu vaccines administered in 2023/24.

Keep ReadingShow less
Chemotherapy-free leukaemia treatment

The trial found that a combination of two cancer drugs, ibrutinib and venetoclax, could perform better than chemotherapy among patients with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia.

iStock

Chemotherapy-free leukaemia treatment shows promise during trial

In a breakthrough in leukaemia research, scientists in the UK have tested a chemotherapy-free approach, involving a combination of targeted drugs, which may offer better outcomes.

The new treatment could radically change the way chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL), the most common form of leukaemia in adults, is treated.

Keep ReadingShow less
Wales ranked worst for second-trimester abortion access in the UK

Each year about 175 women travel from Wales to England for care

Wales ranked worst for second-trimester abortion access in the UK

A leading healthcare charity has revealed that Wales is the worst part of the United Kingdom for allowing surgical abortions for women.

Surgical abortion is the process removing pregnancy from the womb by inducing local anaesthesia, conscious sedation or general anaesthesia.

Keep ReadingShow less
The fund offers £150 per eligible child - for up to three children per household.

The fund offers £150 per eligible child - for up to three children per household.

Charity reopens funding to ease back to school financial pressures for community pharmacists

Community pharmacists struggling with the costs of their children going back to school can apply for funding from The Leverhulme Trade Charities Trust (LTCT)

The Trust is providing up to £100,000 of support to those working in a community pharmacy or are a registered pharmacist or pharmacy technician

Keep ReadingShow less