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2/3/2012
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Complacent government in denial over drugs shortages, claims AAH chief
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Mark James, the group managing director of AAH.
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The government is in denial over the drugs shortage which continues to blight community pharmacy while ministers have been complacent when confronting the “seriousness of the problem,” Mark James, the group managing director of AAH, has said.
Concerns that drugs are still not reaching pharmacies promptly have grown amongst pharmacists and patient groups in recent months and frustration over what many have perceived as ministers' lackadaisical attitudes to the situation have been heightened.
James accused the government of complacency following enquiries made by the Conservative MP Margot James in Parliament to the Health Minister Simon Burns over what steps are being taken to correct the problem. Burns told her that “some shortages and delivery delays are inevitable” and that the Department of Health has “well established arrangements for dealing with these.”
“If the Department has ‘well established arrangements’ for dealing with shortages what are these And if they exist why are they not working? This is a worryingly complacent response which shows no understanding of the scale or seriousness of the problem,” James said.
“The reality is that the guidance produced by the Department of Health has had no impact whatsoever; problems with the availability of certain medicines are as bad as ever.
“Wholesalers have put forward constructive proposals including amending regulations to reflect new Patient Service Obligations, independent third party monitoring and improved emergency supply arrangements, but we will not make progress unless the Department of Health is willing to play its part.”
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