- Industry leaders are struggling to source hormone replacement therapies and medications for ADHD, diabetes and epilepsy
- Dr. Leyla Hannbeck said the situation is ‘the worst we have ever seen’
Patients are at risk from a major shortage of common medicines, chemists warn.
Industry leaders say they regularly have difficulty obtaining hormone replacement therapies and medications for ADHD, diabetes and epilepsy.
It is causing unrest among those forced to ration their doses or go without – and exposing pharmacists to aggression and abuse, they add.
Dr. Leyla Hannbeck, chief executive of the Association of Independent Multiple Pharmacies, said the situation was “the worst we have ever seen” and called on the government to recognize the severity of the problem.
Patients are at risk from a major shortage of common medicines, chemists have warned
She blamed a “broken” supply chain, unable to cope when demand for a drug rises or a factory experiences production problems. The shortages are forcing patients to scour about 30 to 40 pharmacies in search of one that has stock or return to their GP for an alternative prescription.
Meanwhile, pharmacies have to spend hours on the phone with wholesalers every day to track down stock, which prevents them from providing care.
Dr. Hannbeck said: ‘Our supply system is consistently unable to cope once demand for a drug increases – for example, scabies drugs, ADHD drugs, diabetes drugs and some cancer drugs, HRT drugs – the list goes on.’
She added that frontline pharmacists “regularly witness the stress these shortages cause patients, but are left feeling helpless.”
‘In addition, as pharmacists we are concerned that the shortages of some of these medicines are impacting the safety of patients by affecting their treatment, in some cases causing delays in their treatment, or, as some patients report, their symptoms returning when they can’t get anymore. have their medicine in hand.”
William Pett, of patient watchdog Healthwatch England, told the Commons Health and Social Care Committee yesterday that some people with ADHD have had to ration medication and call multiple pharmacies or post on Facebook to obtain medication.
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: ‘We have established processes in place to quickly prevent, manage and mitigate medicine shortages when they occur, including working closely with industry, the NHS and others. If a problem does arise, it is usually resolved with minimal disruption to patients.”