The House of Lords Public Services Committee yesterday (August 5) announced the launch of a “medicines security” inquiry to look into the “UK’s ability to predict and prevent medicine supply issues”.
The inquiry will focus on “the effectiveness of current strategies to tackle medicine supply issues in England and their resilience in the face of challenges in the procurement, supply and distribution of medicine”, it said.
The Committee will also consider “innovative solutions to deal with the identified issues”, it added.
Read more: Drug shortages ‘unsustainable burden’ on pharmacy, MPs warn
The inquiry calls on the public to submit written evidence by September 23, noting that the increase in “medicine shortages across England” is impacting the “health of patients” as well as putting “significant pressure on the NHS, pharmacies and GPs”.
Chair of the Committee Baroness Morris of Yardley said that “the medical supply chain has become increasingly complex encompassing sourcing, manufacturing, distribution and delivery of medicines on a global scale”.
The Committee is “interested in understanding how effective the current strategies in England are for predicting and preventing supply chain issues across both primary and secondary care, and their future resilience in the face of different challenges and threats,” she said.
“Alleviate” pharmacy pressures
And she added that it was interested in hearing evidence on “any innovative solutions there might be”.
Baroness Yardley said that this inquiry “should alleviate pressure on pharmacies, the NHS and also provide better medical care to patients”.
She noted that “a number of oral evidence sessions” will also be held before the Committee produces a report with “practical recommendations that will improve all aspects of the supply of medicine in England”.
Read more: DH: ‘No plans’ to review meds shortage impact on pharmacies
It comes after the pharmacy all-party parliamentary group (APPG) last month called for “immediate and coordinated action” following its findings that 84% of pharmacists encounter “daily” drug shortages.
The group’s report into medicines shortages in England revealed that “persistent disruptions” to supply chains are placing an “unsustainable burden on community pharmacy teams”.
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Meanwhile in June, the government confirmed it had “no plans” to conduct a pharmacy medicine shortages review, despite one LPC chief warning she was seeing the “most” out-of-stock drugs in 25 years working in the sector”.
The issue was raised with the government following the National Pharmacy Association’s (NPA) warning earlier that month that 96% of members had reported “challenges supplying” Creon in what one pharmacist described as the “worst stock shortage” they had ever dealt with.
