Official figures showing Clare patients are among the most likely to be prescribed antibiotics should act as a “wake-up call” for both doctors and patients here, it’s claimed.
Figures from the Health Protection Surveillance Centre, show the numbers being prescribed these drugs in the banner, Limerick and North Tipperary were much higher in the last quarter of 2018, than those in the East of the country.
But the reasons behind the regional variation is not known.
The figures have been released today, on European Antibiotic Awareness Day, amid a warning from the HSE that one in 10 patients will have a side effect to the medication such as nausea or skin rash, and in some cases serious illness.
Miltown Malbay GP Dr Billy O’Connell has been telling Clare FM’s Fiona Cahill that taking too many of these drugs can cause long-term health problems.
