Pharmacists in West Yorkshire have expressed their disappointment at the government's response to their calls for "firm action" on the daily problem of stock shortages.

Community Pharmacy West Yorkshire (CPWY) told C+D this week it was frustrated by the Department of Health's (DH's) response to the letter it had sent jointly with Leeds local medical committee (LMC) last month.

Valuable time and resources were being wasted, with pharmacists spending "several hours each week chasing drugs", GPs and pharmacists told the pharmacy minister Earl Howe in June.

Patients were suffering "unnecessary concern and distress" because medication they take regularly was unavailable and the government needed to find a solution, they said.

"We are very disappointed that they have taken the same stance that this is not their problem but someone else's" Robbie Turner, CPWY	More on stock shortages Nick Clegg concerned by stock shortages GPs and pharmacists join forces to urge action on       stock shortages Sign C+D's petition to sort out stocks MORE NEWS
	The DH responded this month and said it appreciated the difficulties that such supply problems can cause for patients. The manufacture and distribution of medicines was "complex and highly regulated" and problems can and do occur, it said.

However, specific medicine shortages that CPWY and Leeds LMC had highlighted had been resolved, the DH added. It was working closely with those involved in supplying medicines to the NHS to ensure patients get the medicines they need, it said.

"We are very disappointed that they have taken the same stance that this is not their problem but someone else's," said CPWY chief executive Robbie Turner. "I don't think it's been taken with the seriousness it deserves," he told C+D. "There needs to be more recognition".

In their letter, Mr Turner and Leeds LMC chair Raj Menon highlighted that a shortage of disulfiram, which is used to treat chronic alcoholism, had prevented a patient from giving up alcohol. Shortages of trazodone, which is used to treat mental health problems, had caused anxiety for a number of patients, they said.

The government said that, although disulfiram had encountered production problems and went out of stock, the supply should have now resumed. It said that one of the companies manufacturing trazodone had experienced manufacturing problems while others had struggled to meet increased demand. All stocks were now available, it said.

C+D has launched a petition as part of its Sort Out Stocks campaign, calling for the government to accept that prescription medicine shortages are still a problem for both pharmacists and patients in the UK. Pharmacists can back the campaign and sign the petition here.

Have you signed C+D's petition to sort out stocks?

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