A package of tough new actions to ensure that NHS patients can get the medicines they need was agreed at a summit to discuss concerns about current difficulties with the supply of medicines, hosted by Health Secretary Andy Burnham and Health Minister Mike O'Brien yesterday.

The actions that were jointly agreed between the delegates include:

- A more explicit duty for manufacturers and wholesalers to ensure that sufficient stocks of medicines are available to NHS patients;

- A series of targeted inspections by the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Authority;

- Tougher standards for the issue of licences for medical wholesalers; and

- Development of best practice guidance on how supply difficulties should be dealt with by doctors, pharmacists, manufacturers and wholesalers.

The targeted inspections mean that manufacturers and wholesalers will risk losing their licences and face prosecution if they breach legal duties on supply of medicines. Pharmacists and doctors risk being called to account by their professional bodies for breaching their ethical obligation to put patients first.

Ministers met with a number of pharmaceutical supply chain stakeholders from across the UK - including the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry, the British Association of Pharmaceutical Wholesalers, the National Pharmacy Association, the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee and the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency - to discuss the nature and scale of medicines supply problems and how the issues can be tackled collaboratively.

The issue of medicine shortages was raised publicly last year when some pharmacists and patients found it difficult to get hold of certain drugs, as a result of a number of unscrupulous traders exporting medicines meant for NHS patients to Europe for profit, because of the cheaper pound.

Health Minister Mike O'Brien said:

"We have reached agreement on a way to help NHS patients get the medicines they need. Manufacturers, wholesalers, pharmacy bodies, regulators and Government all agreed to work together to resolve the issue.

"The lower value of Sterling has resulted in some medicines destined for NHS patients being sold abroad for extra profit by a small number of unscrupulous speculators. Some pharmacists have had trouble getting hold of certain drugs because of this. For months, I have been seriously concerned about the potential impact of this on patients. It is unacceptable that some people have already had to wait longer than they should have to get their medication. Patients must come before profits.

"This new package of measures will help to ensure that NHS patients do not suffer and get the care they need when they need it."

Richard Barker, Director General, Association of British Pharmaceutical Industry, said:

"Getting vital medicines to NHS patients is the job of all of us in the medicines supply chain and so we welcome the collaborative approach being taken by the Forum. We also strongly support the proposal to raise the standards to be applied to the licensing of wholesalers, to reinforce their mission to deliver medicines to meet the needs of UK patients, who should be at the centre of all of our activities."

Sue Sharpe, CEO of the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee, said:

"Nothing is more important to community pharmacists than obtaining and dispensing the medicines patients need. A collaborative approach is crucial to addressing this issue, and we are pleased that all parts of the supply chain are committed to working collectively and constructively. The robust package of measures that has now been agreed, including supporting all parts of the supply-chain with best practice guidance, will be instrumental in addressing this continuing problem."

Source
Department of Health, UK