Active pensioner died after getting the wrong drugs from chemist

Margaret Forrest was well-known in her home village and, despite her age, had been backpacking in Afghanistan and Australia, the Daily Express reports.

The fiercely independent widow had been making plans to attend her grandson’s wedding in the south of England when she was mistakenly given tablets at her local Boots pharmacy which were actually for Florence Frost,  a diabetic.

Mrs Forrest was discovered lying unconscious in her flat, above the family’s gift shop in Kingussie, Inverness-shire, by her son Billy, 65, on November 12, 2013.

She was rushed to hospital but Mrs Forrest never emerged from her coma and died two days later, the inquiry at Inverness Sheriff Court heard.

The inquiry was told that Mrs Forrest had been given Gliclazide, which is used to treat diabetics.

The drug caused a hypo-glycaemic brain injury and other complications which were the cause of death.

Chemist who branded a customer a 'total retard' in a Facebook rant is let off with a warning

A pharmacist who branded a customer a 'retard' in a rant on Facebook has been allowed to keep his job after being let off with a warning by bosses, the Daily Mail reports.

Charles Shanks, who runs Calder Pharmacy in Edinburgh's Calder Park, took to Facebook after a dispute with a customer over pain medication that was out of stock.

In his astonishing post, Mr Shanks, 54, said customer Jill Rennie - who had been picking up the medication her father Donald needed for his cancer prescription - had gone 'total retard'.

'All my lovely staff know just where I'm coming from and what I will do when said f***tard comes in tomorrow,' he wrote.

Pharmacies under threat in South London

South London chemists have warned that local pharmacy services are being put in “jeopardy” by planned NHS cutbacks, the South London Press reports.

Pharmacy owners said services were “under threat” and that patients may have trouble accessing healthcare as a result of plans to slash their funding by £170million.

The National Pharmacy Association (NPA) collected almost 1,000 signatures at the Elephant & Castle shopping centre for a petition against the proposals last week.

LloydsPharmacy owner Celesio's operations director exits as digital boss sought

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LloydsPharmacy owner Celesio UK is on the hunt for a new operations director and digital director as it looks to boost its online offer, Retail Week reports.

Operations boss Steve Anderson has quit after 30 years with the group, where he started at its wholesale division AAH Pharmaceuticals.

Anderson, who joined Celesio UK’s board of directors in 2012, will leave at the end of this month and recruitment for a replacement is underway.

“Steve feels that this is the right time to move on to new challenges and is exploring his options,” a spokeswoman told Retail Week.

Alcohol: 2.5 million people bust weekly limit in a day

Around 2.5 million people in Great Britain - 9% of drinkers - consume more than the new weekly recommended limit for alcohol in a single day, latest figures from the Office for National Statistics show, the BBC reports.

The 2014 data predates the new limit of 14 units of alcohol per week for men which began in January. Although habits may start to change, experts say the figures are concerning.

The chief medical officer says there is no safe level of regular drinking.

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The ONS figures show 58% of people - 28.9 million - drink some alcohol in a typical week.