26 August 2011
Islanders are being advised by Jersey’s Medical Officer of Health to be extra vigilant if they have bought Nurofen Plus pain relief tablets following reports that the anti-psychotic drug, Seroquel XL 50mg, has been found within some Nurofen Plus packets.
Nurofen Plus tablets are a pharmacy only product. Only 3 defective packs have been found in pharmacies in the UK, and to date there have been no reports of them in Jersey.
However, Medical Officer of Health, Dr Susan Turnbull, is advising caution. She said "Although all local pharmacists have been alerted about the potential problem, we would advise Islanders who have bought Nurofen Plus in the last few months to check their medication carefully. Any packs containing Seroquel instead of Nurofen – the most obvious sign is that it is in a gold-coloured blister pack, not silver - should not take any of the medication, and return it as soon as possible to the pharmacy where they bought it from.
“It will not be apparent until the packet is opened, what is inside. If they have got a packet of the tablets, and have taken one, and discover it is not Nurofen Plus, they should contact their GP for advice. We are not trying to alarm Islanders, just asking them to be vigilant."
The batch numbers and details which can be found on the affected Nurofen Plus packets are:
| Pack size |
Batch number |
Expiry date |
Product licence number |
| 32 tablets |
13JJ |
03/2014 |
00327 / 008 |
| 32 tablets |
57JJ |
05/2014 |
00063 / 0376 |
| 32 tablets |
49JJ |
05/2014 |
00063 / 0376 |
The large capsule-shaped Seroquel XL 50mg tablets can be identified by their gold and black packaging.
The smaller Nurofen Plus tablets can be identified by their silver and black packaging.
Ian Holloway from the Medicines and Healthcare Regulatory Agency’s (MHRA) Defective Medicines Report Centre added “People should check to see if they have any affected packets of Nurofen Plus. If you do, return them to the pharmacy where you bought them from. You can also report this to the MHRA on 020 3080 6000 or info@mhra.gsi.gov.uk."
gov.je