Worsening medicine shortages linked to Brexit and more

The Independent 

A recent report by the Independent Commission on UK EU Relations highlights the impact of Brexit-related border issues on the UK’s medicine supply chain.

In response, we’ve highlighted our findings on medicines supply issues and their crushing impact on community pharmacies and patients.

The causes of supply issues extend beyond Brexit, encompassing factors such as the Ukraine conflict, the Covid-19 pandemic, and broader economic instability.

We shared the following statement with The Independent.

Our Chief Executive Janet Morrison said:

“Medicine shortages and market instability appear to be as bad as they have ever been and are making life incredibly difficult for community pharmacies and their patients. Pharmacy teams are working hard to source the medicines their patients need, but they are powerless to solve wider supply chain problems. In our polling of pharmacy owners this year, medicines supply issues have consistently ranked as one of the worst pressures affecting pharmacies.

“Supply chain issues can be caused by many factors. In recent times we have seen Brexit, the current war in Ukraine, the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and broader economic instability. All of these have put extra stress on the medicines supply chain, stretching community pharmacies financially and often causing unavoidable delays in patient care.

“The Government and NHS must step in and do more to help protect community pharmacies and their patients from these ongoing supply chain shocks and issues. We would like to see them strategically reviewing medicines supply and giving more powers to pharmacists to help them to better manage their patients’ medicines when shortages do occur.”

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Coverage 

NHS hit by ‘severe drug shortages’ due to Brexit red tape | The Independent