Northern Ireland pharmacists are warning that a range of medicines could run out “within weeks”.
The community pharmacists say that shortages and “skyrocketing prices” of many drugs used to treat conditions including osteoporosis, high blood pressure, coronary issues and depression could mean they are no longer able to supply them.
The sector says it is already seeing wholesale prices “rise exponentially for many products, with shortages now common across many medicines”. Pharmacists say they have seen the price of some products rise fiftyfold, but add that the Department of Health is failing to keep up with rising costs when they compensate those dispensing the drugs.
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Health Minister Robin Swann insisted, however, that “there are national and locally tried and trusted mitigation arrangements in place for dealing with any supply distributions to ensure that patients continue to get the medicines they need”.
But Community Pharmacy NI has called on the Department of Health to “support community pharmacists to meet the additional price rises and ensure medicine supplies to patients can be maintained”.
David McCrea, Community Pharmacist at Dundela Pharmacy, Belfast said: “As a community pharmacist for over 30 years, I have never witnessed the price of medicines rise this sharply. It is becoming increasingly hard for us to afford to buy the medicines from wholesalers because we are not being paid the full cost of these drugs by the Department.
“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.
“First and foremost, we must now be paid properly for the cost of these medicines by the Department. The bottom line is that we are now facing the situation where we will not be able to afford to supply our patients with essential medicines, within weeks.”
Gerard Greene, Chief Executive of Community Pharmacy NI added: “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.
“The community pharmacy network has a responsibility to ensure patient safety at all times, and the threat to the supply of vital medicines is very real. It is incumbent upon us to now warn people of the risk to medicine supply for many drugs and to ask the public to understand that pharmacies are doing their best under impossible circumstances.
“Fundamentally, the source of the issue is that Northern Ireland does not have a workable Drug Tariff for dispensing medicines, and we have made repeated representations to the Department of Health (NI) requesting a change to these arrangements and to get a payment system that reflects the specific circumstances of Northern Ireland.
“It is a fact that community pharmacies regularly pay suppliers more for medicines than they get back from the Department. The critical drug supply issue we are now facing shows that the Department must reform the funding structures for community pharmacy in Northern Ireland. 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.”
The body said that among the drugs impacted are: Alendronic Acid 70mg tablets used to treat Osteoporosis; Lercanidipine tablets used to treat blood pressure; Fluoxetine 20mg capsules used as an anti-depressant; Esomeprazole tablets used for gastric disorders like ulcers and Finasteride tablets which are used for prostate conditions.
Responding to the claims, the Department of Health said that the Minister “would like to reassure the public that there are national and locally tried and trusted mitigation arrangements in place for dealing with any supply distributions to ensure that patients continue to get the medicines they need”.
A spokesman added: “The Minister and Department are very aware of the pressures facing community pharmacies. The Minister and officials discussed the situation with Community Pharmacy NI (CPNI) representatives at a meeting last week. The scale of the unprecedented budgetary pressures and uncertainty currently facing the Department were spelt out.
“Notwithstanding these pressures, Community Pharmacy NI were informed that a support package for their sector was being finalised. This package includes immediate interventions worth over £5.3m in value, plus a commitment to progress wider reform arrangements in collaboration with CPNI. It is therefore somewhat surprising to see CPNI publicly demanding a package which it already knows is on the way.”
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