PATIENTS in Trafford are being urged to check their co-codamol tablets carefully.

The warning comes after the UK medicines regulator warned that some packs of the painkiller contain the wrong strength of tablets.

Co-codamol is a mixture of paracetamol and codeine that is commonly used to treat moderate to severe pain.

The affected batch should have contained tablets of strength 8mg/500mg but instead contains tablets of 30mg/500mg, posing the risk that patients may inadvertently take a higher dose.

The manufacturer, Wockhardt UK Ltd, is urgently recalling all packets of batch LL11701 co-codamol, which went on sale from December 30, 2011 and have an expiry date of September 2014. The UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Authority (MHRA) is alerting healthcare professionals.

David Milligan, acting director of pharmacy at Trafford Healthcare NHS Trust, said: “We would strongly urge all patients who are taking co-codamol or who have packets of it at home to check whether or not it belongs to the affected batch.

“Check whether your tablets were manufactured by Wockhardt UK Ltd and then look at the batch number on the end flap of the box. You can also tell by looking at the tablets themselves. The 8mg/500mg tablets should be printed on one side only with the marking 'AB'. The faulty packs contain 30mg/500mg tablets which will say CCD30 on one side and CP on the other.

“If you have any tablets from this faulty batch, please take them back to the pharmacy where you got them as soon as you can and do not take any more of them.”

Although 8mg/500mg co-codamol is available over the counter, the higher-strength 30mg/500mg tablets should only be prescribed by a health professional.

Anyone with any queries or concerns about the affected tablets can contact the Defective Medicines Reporting Centre on 020 3080 6574.

In the unlikely event that someone feels unwell and is concerned it may be because they might have taken the wrong strength tablets, they should contact a pharmacist or GP for advice.