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The All-Party Pharmacy Group (APPG) has announced plans to conduct an inquiry into medicines shortages in England that aims to “develop practical recommendations to address this ongoing challenge”.
The APPG said in a statement on 8 January 2024 that the inquiry “comes in response to the growing concerns surrounding medicines shortages and its impact on patient care in the UK, including pharmacy teams’ ability to dispense medicines in a timely way”.
As part of the inquiry, the APPG opened a survey on medicines shortages to anyone affected, including pharmacists and pharmacy teams, medicines manufacturers and distributors and patient groups.
The APPG is an independent cross-party parliamentary group, currently chaired by Labour MP Steve Race and funded by Community Pharmacy England (CPE), the National Pharmacy Association (NPA), the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS), the Company Chemists Association and the Independent Pharmacies Association.
Zoe Long, director of communications, corporate and public affairs at CPE, said: “CPE supports all the vital work that the APPG does, and we welcome this latest inquiry on medicines shortages.
“Supply issues continue to add to the huge pressures on community pharmacies and to impact on patients, and we hope this inquiry will both draw attention to the phenomenal work of pharmacy teams, and help to press for solutions.”
“We will be submitting evidence to help inform the inquiry, building on our 2024 medicines supply report, and encourage community pharmacists and pharmacy teams to share their experiences too,” Long added.
In May 2024, CPE’s ‘Pharmacy pressures survey: medicines supply report‘ revealed that shortages were affecting 99% of community pharmacies at least weekly, with 72% experiencing multiple shortages each day. The report compiled data from a survey of more than 2,000 community staff members and the owners of more than 6,000 pharmacy premises.
Tase Oputu, chair of the RPS’s English Pharmacy Board, welcomed the inquiry and said the RPS will be contributing to it.
“Medicines shortages continue to be a significant challenge for patients and healthcare professionals, as highlighted in our recent report, which includes recommendations to improve supply chain resilience, strengthen communication between stakeholders and support pharmacists managing these issues,” Oputu said.
“We hope the recommendations from this inquiry will align with ours and drive action to address the causes of shortages and ensure patients can access the medicines they need without disruption.”
In November 2024, the RPS published its ‘Medicines shortages policy: solutions for empty shelves’, in which it called for the creation of a national strategy to tackle medicines shortages.
A spokesperson for the NPA said: “It is good to see a new investigation by the APPG into the challenges caused by medicine shortages, which have blighted patients and heaped pressure on already overstretched pharmacies.
“We look forward to working with the APPG as this inquiry progresses.”
