Lives put at risk by shortage of drugs, NHS leaders warn
Patients’ lives are being put at risk by a nationwide shortage of critical medicines because pharmaceutical companies are rationing drugs, NHS leaders have warned.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/9350508/Lives-put-at-risk-by-shortage-of-drugs-NHS-leaders-warn.html
Four in five NHS trusts in England and Wales say patients are suffering “unacceptable” delays for drugs to treat life-threatening conditions including cancer, Parkinson’s disease, schizophrenia and organ failure. A survey of 60 NHS authorities found that the shortage was doing patients “serious harm”, with some having to be admitted to hospital for emergency treatment after they were unable to get their medicines. Pharmaceutical companies began rationing drugs to the NHS four years ago after British wholesalers and pharmacies started selling them abroad to take advantage of favourable exchange rates. But NHS leaders and politicians said that the restrictions had gone too far and urged ministers to intervene and force suppliers to put the interests of British patients first.Prof John Parkes, the chief executive of NHS Milton Keynes and Northamptonshire, said: “The current restriction in supply imposed by drug companies is harming the public and must be addressed urgently.” The scale of drug shortages for NHS patients was detailed in responses to Freedom of Information requests to 60 primary care trusts and health authorities by Huw Irranca-Davies, the Labour MP for Ogmore. He found that up to 70 common drugs were unavailable in some areas, with patients facing delays of up to six months for the medication. Earlier this year, a group of MPs on the all-party pharmacy group blamed shortages on pharmacists and wholesalers trying to make extra profits selling drugs to Europe, where they can get a better price than in Britain.
Companies imposed rationing to stop this sale of drugs abroad, but NHS leaders and pharmacies say the regime has backfired and has made the shortages much worse. Andrew McCoig, the chief executive of the NHS pharmaceutical committee for Merton, Sutton and Wandsworth in south London, said shortages were “out of hand and nearing catastrophe” in his area. “The manufacturers must bear the majority of responsibility for the current crisis we’re all experiencing,” he said. “They will not explain their imposed quota system and they will not discuss the issue directly.” He said it was “untenable and ultimately disastrous” for patients. In Cornwall, patients had to be given specialist advice after pharmacies ran out of a drug for Parkinson’s, and in Devon a shortage of drugs to treat stroke patients led pharmacists to warn that “the consequences could be further hospital admissions or even fatalities”.
In Hampshire, patients with schizophrenia were forced to switch drugs after their medicine was unavailable for six months, while the Calderdale, Kirklees and Wakefield group of NHS trusts handed over reports from pharmacists that “serious harm” had been caused to patients. Calderdale and Kirklees local pharmaceutical committee said: “Before the introduction of manufacturers’ quotas, the market for medicines worked effectively. No longer can patients be assured that if they walk into a pharmacy their medication will be available immediately or within an acceptable timescale.” In Essex, one health authority said the shortages had caused such significant deterioration in patients’ conditions that they had been admitted to hospital, increasing the burden on the NHS. NHS leaders said the problems were being exacerbated by the Coalition’s health reforms, which will mean more patients are treated by GPs rather than in hospitals. Dr Mike Prentice, the medical director of NHS South of Tyne and Wear, suggested this would increase pressure on pharmacies. Mr Irranca-Davies urged the Government to introduce a public service obligation for drug manufacturers to force them to prioritise British patients.
“We are talking about drugs for life-threatening illnesses, like cancer, coronary care, and diabetes,” he said. “My message to the Government is they need to stop taking a back seat on this issue. If nothing is done, it will get much worse.” The Department of Health said it was considering an investigation to determine the scale of the problem. A spokesman said it was up to drug companies to make sure quotas were set fairly. He said the Government had an emergency reserve of essential medicines. “We will take any action necessary in the event of disruption to supply and distribution of medicines that causes serious risk to patients.” The pharmaceutical industry denied that quotas were to blame for shortages. Stephen Whitehead, the chief executive of the Association of British Pharmaceutical Industries, said quotas were a “legitimate means of ensuring that UK patients receive the medicines they need”.
He said that without the quotas there would be an even greater shortage of drugs. “Quotas are a sticking plaster, not a cure, but in the current situation, figures relating to patient harm could be far worse without them,” he said. “If all the medicines manufacturers provided went to UK pharmacists, they would have in excess of what they need, but while these medicines continue to flow out of the UK these problems will persist, and make no mistake, patients will be affected.”
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