The APPG on pharmacy today (July 8) published its report into medicines shortages in England, revealing that “persistent disruptions” to supply chains are placing an “unsustainable burden on community pharmacy teams”.
Among other things, it called for “urgent reforms to medicines supply, regulation and pharmacy practice” to “protect patients” and address this “permanent and escalating feature” of NHS care.
The report follows an APPG inquiry into the impact of drug supply issues – launched in December – which called for written evidence from “all those impacted by medicines shortages”.
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The inquiry drew on “extensive evidence from frontline pharmacists [and] prescribers”, revealing that medicine shortages are “directly impacting patients’ health outcomes and placing increasing strain on pharmacy teams”.
And it found that this has caused “widespread harm to patients” while also “driving operational pressures across the NHS”.
“Address the root causes”
Other key findings from the report include:
- 84% of pharmacists and 75% of prescribers report shortages are a “routine feature of daily practice”
- Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), diabetes, epilepsy, hormone replacement therapy (HRT) and antimicrobials are “among the hardest hit”
- Instances of “treatment interruptions, medicine rationing, anxiety and adverse events” were reported, with some patients “suffering serious harm”
- Pharmacy teams report “spending multiple hours daily” sourcing alternative medicines, “diverting time from patient care” and adding “financial strain”
- Medicines shortages contributed to an “estimated £220 million” in additional costs to the NHS in 2022/23
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And the APPG’s report set out 12 recommendations including:
- A “full review and reform” of the community pharmacy contractual framework (CPCF), building on the £800m funding uplift secured for 2024/25 and 2025/26
- Establishment of a “national real-time medicines shortages communication system”
- Regulatory reform to “enable pharmacists to substitute medicines” safely during shortages
- A “fully independent review” of the UK medicines supply chain to “inform longer-term structural reform”
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“Pharmacy is central to NHS recovery and transformation, but frontline teams cannot safely expand clinical services while daily supply disruptions continue,” APPG chair and Labour MP for Exeter Steve Race said.
“Failure to act risks further undermining patient care and destabilising a community pharmacy sector that millions depend upon,” he added.
“Medicines shortages must not be allowed to become the new normal,” he stressed, adding that there must be “immediate and coordinated action from government, regulators, industry and the NHS to address the root causes of shortages”.
“Simply unacceptable”
National Pharmacy Association (NPA) chief executive Henry Gregg stressed that “pharmacy teams are under enormous pressure” and are now being “forced to spend hours hunting down stock for distressed and frustrated patients”.
“The government must allow pharmacists...to use their professional judgment to supply an appropriate alternative medication when the prescribed version is unavailable,” he said.
Company Chemists’ Association (CCA) chief executive Malcolm Harrison welcomed the report and called for an urgent “end-to-end review of the medicines supply chain”.
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Meanwhile, Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) policy lead on medicine shortages Alwyn Fortune urged policymakers to “act on the recommendations…to help make a difference for patients”.
And Community Pharmacy England (CPE) chief executive Janet Morrison said that the current medicines shortages are “simply unacceptable” and “must not become the new norm”.
“Without decisive action, we risk these challenges persisting for many more years to come,” she said.
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General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) chief executive Duncan Rudkin said that the regulator is “committed” to “supporting and enabling pharmacists and pharmacy technicians to make decisions in the best interests of their patients when medicines are in short supply”.
It comes as the UK’s largest digital pharmacy last week launched a medication “stock checker” tool to allow patients to check drug availability when ordering their NHS prescriptions online.
And CPE last week released its own report on the impact of medicine shortages on patients and pharmacies, which Morrison described as the “distressing new normal”.
