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People who use pharmacies in parts of Pendle have suffered shortages or delays in buying prescription medicines such as insulin, councillors have been told. In the Barnoldswick area, a number of pharmacies have been impacted and some councillors hope a new regional NHS organisation might look into the problems. However, pharmacies in the neighbouring town of Nelson are facing shortages with other medicines. A pharmacists in Nelson Pharmacy told Pharmacy Business that he was struggling to meet local demand for children's paracetamol due to ongoing shortages. Pendle Council's West Craven Area Committee heard about the issues at its latest local meeting, held in Earby. An agenda for the committee stated: "Pharmacy provision in West Craven. It is reported that there is an acute problem with people being unable to get prescriptions filled, with Whitworth chemists suffering a breakdown in service. Previously, Well chemists has suffered similar problems." Speaking at the meeting, Lib-Dem Coun David Whipp said: "It's quite an appalling situation where people are queuing 30 minutes to get a prescription filled but when they get to the counter they are told it's not ready. They have to go home and come back at 5pm. It's an ongoing problem. "It includes insulin, which is critical for people with diabetes. I know several people who have failed to get insulin, It's a very serious problem." He added: "I think the committee should contact the local integrated care service. I think they are responsible for primary care which includes pharmacies. We need to find out what's happening and improve things in future. "

Community Pharmacy England (CPE) has explained MPs on instability that puts operational pressures on pharmacies, financial pressures on businesses at a Parliamentary drop-in event held on Monday (10 July). The association has been in Parliament today alongside patient representatives and others to highlight our ongoing concerns about medicines supply to MPs. It said: "Medicines supply remains a critical issue for community pharmacies with disruption causing problems both accessing medicines and procuring them cost effectively." In CPE's recent sector polling, community pharmacy owners rated medicines supply instability as being the most severe pressure facing their businesses. This echoed the results of CPE's Pressures Survey which found 97% of pharmacy owners survey are facing significant increases in wholesaler and medicine supply issues, with 71% saying this was leading to delays in prescriptions being issued. During the Parliamentary drop-in event, CPE talked MPs through the issues and set out what it believe needs to happen to resolve them, calling for- Reform of Serious Shortage Protocols; Allowing generic substitution; An overhaul of the concessions system; and a strategic Government review of medicine supply and pricing with a shift to focusing on how to improve the functioning of the supply chain rather than solely on the drive to depress prices and margins.

harmacists in the town of Barnoldswick in Lancashire are reportedly suffering from various problems including a lack of medicines and the movement or loss of pharmacy staff. Problems, including delays with supply of insulin, were reported at a recent Pendle Council West Craven meeting. And this week the head of one pharmacy chain, Whitworth, highlighted a range of issues faced by his teams including supply chains, costs, loss of staff and NHS reimbursement for contractors. In Barnoldswick, queues have formed inside and outside pharmacies as people attempt to get prescriptions. Some said they had to wait for days to get what they needed, had made repeat-visits to pharmacies and were unsure when medicines might arrive. They also said the number of pharmacies in the area have fallen over the years. Two town centre pharmacies, Whitworth and Well, are located opposite each other, close to a doctors' surgery. Standing in one queue outside Whitworth was Marilyn King. She said: "I have been waiting seven days to get my prescription for blood pressure and some other medicines. This week, I've come back time after time. But the staff say sorry, they have not got it in because nobody has delivered it. "I came here on Saturday, when there was a queue. But the pharmacist was not here. I came again on Tuesday and then Wednesday. Then finally, just when I reached the front of the queue, they asked me to come back in an hour…

Hospitals and healthcare providers across the UK have been notified about the shortage of an anti-inflammatory medicine caused by a manufacturing failure. The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) on Friday (3 May) issued a National Patient Safety Alert stating that Erelzi 50mg solution for injection in pre-filled pen will be out of stock from early May until mid-July 2024. "The supply issues have been caused by a manufacturing failure resulting in delays in production and the implementation of global allocations," it said. However, it noted that homecare providers (Alcura, Healthnet and Sciensus) have sufficient stock to supply existing patients until mid/late May 2024. Although Erelzi 50mg pre-filled syringes (PFS) are still available, they cannot support a full increase in demand, the DHSC warned.

The Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) has urged the government to amend medicines legislation to allow pharmacists to make minor amendments to a prescription without any protocol being needed. RPS wants to see a change in the law that makes the whole process of supply of medicines easier and quicker, enabling pharmacists to use their knowledge and expertise in medicines to better support patients. "At present a prescription can only be changed by a prescriber, which causes unnecessary workload for GPs and delays for patients," said RPS. RPS President Professor Claire Anderson said: "We want to see all pharmacists across the UK able to supply a different quantity, strength or formulation of a medicine (for example changing capsules to tablets) when required, to avoid unnecessary bureaucracy and the need for an SSP to be developed, signed and authorised by a Minister. In effect it would mean that pharmacists can help patients straight away - it would future proof the problem to some degree.