National warnings of medicine shortages have more than tripled in the past two years as the UK continues to grapple with a drug shortage crisis, i can reveal. The Government was forced to intervene 50 times to authorise the emergency use of alternative drugs for patients via a Serious Shortage Protocols (SSP) because of “acute” medicine shortages, according to an analysis by a leading industry body. Experts have said that the findings revealed “just the tip of the iceberg” in terms of the severity of the challenges currently facing pharmacists and their patients, with increasing fears about the threat to patients’ health.
Some pharmacists have reported having to turn away those who are in need of vital medication. Gaynor Edwards, 54, who has Parkinson’s , said she has lived in constant fear of running out of her meds, with any interruption in supply leaving her “stiff and rigid and in pain”. Over the past few years, the UK has been continuously rocked by shortages of hundreds of life-saving meds, with hundreds of thousands of patients affected .
The National Pharmacy Association (NPA) has urged the main political parties contesting the general election to commit to tackling the “alarming growth” in medicine shortages in Britain. The NPA said the crisis was down to a confluence of aggravating factors, including changes in global demand, manufacturing problems and the “grossly underfunded” UK supply chain. Drugs for a wide range of conditions were subjec.
