pharmacist

Walgreens pharmacists ignored red flags that the prescriptions were invalid or lacked a medical purpose, the complaint said.

Dr Alison Cave, chief safety officer at the MHRA, said: "Healthcare professionals such as pharmacists are also being asked to stop supplying medicine from the affected batch and to return it to the supplier."

"My wife is here having been referred by a pharmacist for osteoarthritis in the hip – she loves it and comes for five hours a week," he said.

It had previously warned that pharmacists were facing a "financial cliff edge" from 1 April, when many of their costs are due to rise.

Fiona Thompson, from Bournemouth, had already taken an early retirement from her work as a hospital pharmacist just a few months before the pandemic hit.