Northern Ireland faces many prescription medicines running out within weeks- warn pharmacists

Community Pharmacy Northern Ireland is calling for an immediate injection of funding to help pharmacists cope with soaring medicine costs, along with a well-funded community pharmacy contract

Community pharmacists in Northern Ireland have sounded an alarm they may not be able to supply essential prescription medicines to patients in the coming weeks due to skyrocketing prices and widespread shortages.

The sector reported that the price of buying medicines from wholesalers has surged exponentially, with many medicines now facing shortages.

Without immediate intervention from the Department of Health, community pharmacists fear they will no longer be able to afford commonly prescribed drugs for conditions such as osteoporosis, high blood pressure, insomnia, mental health disorders, and coronary conditions.

Community Pharmacy NI (CPNI), representing pharmacists in the region, is calling for urgent support to manage these rising costs and ensure continued medicine supplies to patients.

Gerard Greene, Chief Executive of CPNI, emphasised the need for immediate action: “The skyrocketing price of medicines that we are currently experiencing requires an immediate response from the Department.

“Community pharmacists cannot afford the increasing prices, particularly when the service is dealing with more patients.

“In addition to the excessive costs, pharmacy teams are spending hours every day sourcing medicines when they could be using their clinical skills to directly support their patients.”

Greene identified Northern Ireland’s Drug Tariff as the main source of the issue, arguing that it “does not reflect the specific circumstances of Northern Ireland.”

CPNI has repeatedly asked the Department of Health to adjust these arrangements and implement a payment system that better suits the region’s needs.

Greene highlighted that pharmacies often pay suppliers more for medicines than they get back from the Department, exacerbating the current crisis.

“We need an immediate injection of funding to help pharmacists deal with these pricing issues, as well as a properly funded community pharmacy contract going forward,” he said.

Apixaban, a common blood clot medicine, was the latest drug impacted by the soaring prices.

The organisation’s recent data shows that the price of Apixaban has soared to £36 per pack, while the DOH reimburses only £2.21 to £2.48 per pack, creating a significant gap in a pharmacy’s finances.

Although the department temporarily increased reimbursement to £14.99 at the end of August, it reverted to the lower rate on September 1.

CPNI reported that around 150 medicine lines are affected monthly by such pricing discrepancies.

The other affected drugs include Alendronic Acid 70mg tablets (Osteoporosis), Lercanidipine tablets (Blood pressure), Fluoxetine 20mg capsules (Anti-depressants), Esomeprazole tablets (Gastric disorders e.g. ulcers) and Finasteride tablets (prostate conditions).

Greene expressed concern that some community pharmacy owners have been compelled to borrow money from family members to meet medicine wholesaler bills.

Earlier this year, the UK’s medicines wholesalers also warned about the financial strain on community pharmacies.

“For a first world health service this is the sorry state of affairs,” Greene said.

CPNI is calling for two key actions:

• An urgent injection of funding to help community pharmacies pay their medicine bills
• A Northern Ireland-specific drug tariff that meets the needs of a modern community pharmacy network

Greene stressed that stabilising primary care and community pharmacy could resolve many health service issues.

He said: “What we continuously hear is that there is no money, yet if primary care and community pharmacy was stabilised, community pharmacy can provide solutions to many of the issues facing our health service.”

CPNI also highlighted the closure of 15 community pharmacies in the past 20 months as evidence that the current funding model is unsustainable, with an additional two pharmacies shutting down permanently at the end of August.

David McCrea, Community Pharmacist at Dundela Pharmacy, Belfast shared his distress over the soaring costs: “I have seen the price of some medicines I need to buy for patients rising fiftyfold, but the Department only paying a fraction of what I am being charged.”

“With the shortages and price increases affecting hundreds of drugs I simply cannot afford to operate under the current model.

“It is causing financial stress, my credit limits with wholesalers are being breached, and it is simply unsustainable.”

He noted that community pharmacies need proper reimbursement for these medicines to continue providing essential care to our patients.

“