Driver shortages: UK pharmacies left in dark by government
pharmafile | September 27, 2021 | News story | Business Services, Medical Communications, Sales and Marketing |
Pharmacists in the UK have been left in the dark by the government, as they still don’t know what measures are to be taken to help deal with supply chain shortages caused by delivery driver shortages.
The National Pharmacists Association (NPA) said on Sunday that it was aware that deliveries to some pharmacies had been reduced and that its members worked together and with local GPs to get medicines that were needed when problems occurred.
A spokesperson for the NPA said: “A resilient medicines supply chain is obviously vital to the health of the nation, so it’s important this isn’t allowed to escalate into a widespread problem that impacts patient care.”
Pharmacists want to ensure that the panic buying seen at the outset of the pandemic last year does not happen again, particularly at a time when COVID-19 booster vaccinations and flu jabs are being administered.
Pharmacies that spoke to the Sunday Telegraph were quoted as saying that some orders were either arriving late or not at all, though customers were still being catered for. However, pharmacists who do home visits are among the healthcare staff who are experiencing problems as a result of fuel shortages caused by the supply chain crisis.
If the situation worsens, pharmacists have suggested that one fall-back could involve the use of a “serious shortage protocol”, which the government had originally prepared, against the backdrop of hard Brexit concerns, to cater for drugs with known supply problems. This would enable pharmacists to supply alternate forms and strengths of medicines without the need to contact the prescriber.
Leyla Hannbeck, Chief Executive Officer of the Association of Independent Multiple Pharmacies, told the Guardian that she had raised the question of what measures were in place to ensure that supply lines were not disrupted.
Hannbeck, whose association represents more than 2,000 independent pharmacies around the UK, said: “It was a question I asked at a round table with government representatives, so hopefully we will get some reassurance.
“We do everything we can to make sure that we are prepared for any eventuality so that people are not left without medicines.”
Kat Jenkins
