A medication used to help manage Type 2 diabetes is "very short supply," according to pharmacies in Guernsey.
About 350 people on the island use semaglutide, also known by the brand name Ozempic.
The medication was given the NHS's blessing in March to aid in weight loss.
The UK Department of Health and Social Care acknowledged that there was a shortage there as well, and warned that it might not be resolved "until at least mid-2024.".
In case pharmacies ran out of stock, alternative approaches and treatments were being prepared, according to Teena Bhogal, chief pharmacist for Health and Social Care in Guernsey.
She stated: "The medical community is making every effort to assist patients in navigating the current circumstance.
"Prescribing recommendations for complementary therapies are being prepared, but we must keep in mind that supplies of other, closely related products are also in short supply. ".
According to Ms. Bhogal, they were aware that some islanders had received semaglutide "privately for weight loss.".
According to NHS recommendations, she stated: "HSC has approved and is funding the conservation of the diabetes supplies that are currently available.
Unfortunately, we were forced to request that semaglutide for weight loss not be prescribed or dispensed by physicians or pharmacies for the time being.
The States of Guernsey also claimed that after informing customers that they were "unable to dispense their semaglutide prescriptions," pharmacies had to deal with verbal abuse from those customers.
"Our pharmacy teams put in a ton of effort to get patients the medications they require. No matter how upsetting a circumstance may be, being unpleasant is never acceptable, it continued.
