"Rogue pharmacists" are the primary cause of stock shortages, and the sector should not lay the blame with manufacturing problems, the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) has said.

The manufacturing body hit out at claims in Pharmacy Voice's survey, which uncovered reports of patient harm, distress and inconvenience due to medicines shortages. The pharmacy organisation said it had some "interesting" statistics on manufacturing problems, suggesting "manufacturing and regulatory difficulties, and supply and demand issues are all contributing to supply problems".

But the ABPI dismissed the claims, saying manufacturers already supplied the UK market with between 15 to 30 per cent more medicines than patients needed. And it argued that Pharmacy Voice's survey had not accurately reflected the problems at the heart of medicines shortages.

"The primary cause of branded medicines shortages is the legal diversion of supply... to other European countries by a small number of pharmacists" Stephen Whitehead, ABPI

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"The primary cause of branded medicines shortages is the legal diversion of supply intended for UK patients to other European countries by a small number of pharmacists," argued ABPI chief executive Stephen Whitehead. Mr Whitehead added that supplying the market with more medicines would fail to improve the situation. "Further oversupplying the market… will not solve supply shortages, but will simply encourage this minority of rogue pharmacists to order yet more UK branded medicines so that they can sell them abroad," he said. "This is not an academic point – one manufacturer received orders representative of 26 years' worth of the UK requirement for one medicine within a five-month period."

The ABPI called on all members of the supply chain to "put the UK patient ahead of their exporting interests" to tackle the "concerning" medicines delays.

Responding to the comments, Pharmacy Voice agreed that the supply chain should work together and "share responsibility" for tackling the issue. But it stressed that medicines export was not the only reason behind the shortages.

"It's undeniable that international trade is a significant part of this picture, but the situation is complex and there are many factors contributing to the current difficulties," a spokesperson for the group said.