CCA Chief Executive, Malcolm Harrison has said that medicine shortages not only risk patient health, but also place additional strain on frontline pharmacy teams.
While giving evidence to the Lords Public Services Committee inquiry into medicines security on Wednesday (5), Harrison said, "There is an urgent need for investment across the entire supply chain.
"Investing in Drug Tariff pricing and retained margin are essential steps to stabilising the supply chain and ensuring the UK remains a competitive market to global manufacturers."
He said investment in medicine pricing is crucial to ensure healthy competition.
This will bring down prices and will be beneficial for the NHS and taxpayers.
Martin Sawer, executive director, Healthcare Distribution Association (HDA) said the supply chain and the delivery mechanism in the UK are good.
He told the committee that the supply side is driven by the global concentration of businesses, but the demand side is becoming very complicated with the advent of technologies and hub and spoke. "We have concerns about how that will manifest."
Sawer remarked that the system is good, 'but the engine needs to be tuned'.
Regarding drug pricing, he said the price of generic medicines has remained flat while production costs have gone up.
James Davies, director of research and insights, Community Pharmacy England, said that the community pharmacies remain underfunded, and this has reduced the resilience of the sector.
He said this was impacting patients, with nearly one in five facing a problem in accessing medicines from community pharmacies.
In the second session on secondary care, Andrew Davies, former national director of Hospital Pharmacy, NHS England, said shortages in hospital pharmacies have a big impact.
He said that a lot of resources and time are spent by NHS Trusts in managing shortages.
As for the substitution of unavailable medicines, he said the hospitals have a lot more flexibility than community pharmacies.
Richard Bowers, Medicines Procurement and Supply, Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, said the shortages also have an emotional pressure on the pharmacy teams.
He also said early warning regarding shortages could help, but timely information is not forthcoming.
When asked to define shortage, Bowers said anything that causes disruption from the status quo in procuring medicine, and if it requires manual intervention, is a shortage.
Director for England at the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) Amandeep Doll highlighted the critical role pharmacists play in managing shortages on the frontline and called for urgent action to strengthen medicines security.
She called for greater transparency and data sharing across the supply chain to anticipate and mitigate shortages; pharmacy system leadership to support patient access to medicines and deliver the UK’s life sciences ambitions; a national medicines shortage strategy from Government that includes clear guidance for pharmacy teams and healthcare professionals; improved communication channels between government, regulators, and the NHS to ensure timely updates and coordinated responses.
Amandeep said, “Medicine shortages are not just a supply chain issue; they directly impact patient care and safety. Pharmacists are often the first to identify and respond to shortages, but they need better tools, clearer guidance, and stronger support to do so effectively. We urge the Government to prioritise medicines security as a matter of national resilience.”
