Pharmacists could be given right to amend prescriptions to tackle medicines shortages

The government has announced that it will consult on proposals to enable community pharmacists to amend prescriptions in response to medicines shortages.

In a policy paper on managing medicines supply in England, published on 11 August 2025, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) announced proposals to give community pharmacists the ability “to have the flexibility to supply an alternative strength (and hence also quantity) or formulation against a prescription written by another prescriber, to improve patient access to medicines and improve patient experience”.

The paper said the DHSC would need to consider when this would be appropriate, “to balance any risks to patient safety and the potential knock-on impact that could unintentionally lead to supply problems with other products”.

Currently, patients must return to their GP to have their prescription amended, except for specific cases where serious shortage protocols are issued.

In 2020, an open letter to then health secretary Matt Hancock — jointly signed by the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) and six other bodies, including the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGPs) — called for pharmacists to be able to amend prescriptions in response to shortages to prevent delays in treatment and additional workload.

The RPS also called for pharmacists to be able to amend prescriptions as one of its 20 recommendations in a report on medicines shortages, published in November 2024.

Commenting on the announcement, Claire Anderson, president of the RPS, said: “This is a landmark moment for pharmacy and patient care. We’ve long campaigned for pharmacists to be empowered to use their professional judgement in the face of medicine shortages, and we’re delighted to see the government take this important step.

“Pharmacists are highly trained healthcare professionals, who are more than capable of making these decisions safely. This change would help reduce delays for patients and free up valuable GP time, allowing the NHS to function more efficiently. It’s a win for patients, a win for the NHS, and a win for common sense.”

Other proposals covered in the government consultation document include improving GPs’ access to information on live national shortages on their prescribing software.

The DHSC said it will look to expand and speed up access to information on anticipated resupply dates for out-of-stock medicines and available alternative treatments for GPs through companies that operate their prescribing software.

“This will allow prescribers to take the necessary mitigating steps — for example, prescribing an alternative medicine — and reduce potential pressure on pharmacies, the GP sector and patients,” the document says.

The government also said it would look at regulations that govern medicines suppliers’ requirements to report shortages, including consulting on “the penalties regime” included in the legislation.

The policy paper said the DHSC would work with manufacturers and distributors on how to better anticipate demand fluctuations to help prevent essential medication becoming out of stock, as well as looking at how digital tools can cut the amount of time that the pharmaceutical industry spends notifying DHSC of shortages and providing essential data on stock levels that offer early warning signals.

The policy paper also outlined plans to:

• Look at how to ensure there are enough finished drug product suppliers in the UK market;
• Increase compliance with secondary care eight-week buffer stock requirements; and
• Reactivate dormant licences where there are only a very small number of suppliers of specific drugs.

The DHSC said it would publish an update on progress on its proposals in 2026.