10:30am Monday 8th February 2010
By Nicola Fifield
DIFFICULTY in sourcing medicines – including those for breast cancer, blood clots and antidepressants – has affected nearly a third of patients, according to a survey of 150 community pharmacies.
The survey, published by the Chemist & Druggist website last summer, also revealed that nearly 90 per cent of respondents to the survey were “very concerned” about difficulties in getting hold of some medicines.
In a statement to The Press this week, Health Minister Mike O’Brien blamed the nationwide shortage of certain medicines on “unscrupulous people” within the NHS supply chain who were exporting drugs for profit. He said: “The supply chain for NHS medicines includes manufacturers, wholesalers and local pharmacists and is legally obliged to ensure everyone gets the medicine they need.
“Unfortunately, a few unscrupulous people rather than selling drugs to NHS patients as they should, are selling them abroad for greater profit.”
He said the Government had been carefully monitoring the situation and ministers were working with the pharmaceutical industry to deal with the situation.
He said: “The Government intends to call a summit with everyone involved in the supply of medicines so we can fully understand what is happening on the ground and agree on further steps to tackle it.
“The NHS is about giving everyone the care they need, when they need it. We will not stand by while speculators undermine the NHS.”
A spokeswoman for AstraZeneca, the manufacturer of Arimidex, said they were committed to making sure patients in the UK had access to their medicines and were working closely with pharmacies to address any concerns.
She also said they were not aware of any problem with AstraZeneca’s emergency phone line.
But she said recent supply shortages had primarily been caused by a dramatic increase in exports of UK medicines due to the relatively low prices of medicines in the UK and the lower value of the pound.
She pointed the finger at some UK pharmacies, who were ordering more medicines than they needed in order to export them for profit.
But pharmacist David Gill said he did not believe this was the case.
He said: “It is something that we definitely are not doing and I don’t know of any other community pharmacy that is doing this.
Selby MP John Grogan, whose constituency includes Bishopthorpe, said he would be writing to the Health Secretary, Andy Burnham, to make sure the Government was doing everything possible to resolve the problem.
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