Help us with our inquiries
As C+D readers well know, pharmacists are still regularly unable to source crucial medicines and shortages are causing delays in patients with very serious conditions being able to take their medicines.
Anecdotally I know of cases where transplant patients have been unable to secure their medicines, so it's really no exaggeration to say that in some cases a shortage of medicines can be the difference between life and death.
Earlier this year, I initiated a parliamentary debate to discuss the scale of the problem and the steps that might be taken to adequately address it.
As part of this I reviewed some of the possible causes of medicines shortages: the entirely legal selling of medicines intended for the British market to other countries in the European Union, and the fact that - in contrast to their research, manufacture and promotion - the distribution of medicines is not highly regulated. I also highlighted the impact that the shortage of medicines has on patients, who in some cases regularly find themselves without access to drugs for conditions like epilepsy; and on pharmacists who have to spend hours of their valuable time each week trying to source vital medicines for their patients – at direct cost to the NHS.
At the time I noted that the government had taken steps to mitigate the problem - the Department of Health hosted a ‘medicines supply chain forum', and earlier this year it produced a guidance document on best practice for ensuring the efficient supply and distribution of medicines. But nearly a year on, the problem continues unabated. I understand that C+D is currently undertaking a survey on the matter and I look forward to reading the results, but all the indications are that this problem is not going away.
The APPG has now launched a major inquiry on the matter, through which we hope to gain a better understanding of the dynamics of this problem – what causes it and why? Our intention is not to lay blame, rather we want to produce realistic and practical solutions that can unite all the participants in the medicines supply chain and reduce this problem. That may seem to be a tall order, and we can only make progress if we gather as many informed views as possible.
We will shortly be sending out invitations to give oral evidence to the inquiry in the new year, but in the meantime I want to encourage the readers of C+D to submit written evidence about their experiences of medicines shortages and ways the problem could be addressed.
Our inquiry will only be as good as the evidence and ideas we receive, so please help us as we work toward a solution.
For more information on the APPG inquiry, visit: appg.org.uk/medicineshortages.htm, and help us gather evidence on the impact of shortages by completing the C+D Stocks Survey.
