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The Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) has submitted evidence to the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Pharmacy inquiry into medicines shortages in England. In its submission, the organisation has called on the government to develop a national strategy to address medicine shortages and change legislation to allow community pharmacists to amend prescriptions when medicines are in short supply. Tase Oputu, RPS England Board chair, welcomed the inquiry, and emphasised that medicines shortages continue to impact patients and the work of pharmacists daily. The RPS's evidence draws on its report, Medicines Shortages: Solutions for Shelves, which examines the issue in detail. The report revealed that pharmacy teams are spending more time chasing medicines supplies, identifying and switching patients to alternative medicines, taking their time away from other clinical activities.

The British Generic Manufacturers Association (BGMA), the trade body for off-patent medicines, has made several recommendations to alleviate medicine shortages, which not only have serious consequences for patients but also increase workloads for pharmacists. England is currently experiencing twice as many medicine shortages as it did two years ago, with some products remaining out of stock for many months, the BGMA reveals in a report, noting that "the vast majority are commonly used generic medicines." "We have witnessed the number of products facing supply challenges double in the past two years and remain at a high level since September 2023," says BGMA chief executive Mark Samuels. In its report titled 'Solutions to UK medicines shortages' published on 1 October 2024, the BGMA proposes policy changes to tackle medicine shortages, including incorporating supply chain resilience and past performance in hospital medicines tenders. "Tender scoring should include whether supply issues were reported with adequate notice. Suppliers should be informed of changes in prescribing more quickly," the report says.

The All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Pharmacy has launched an inquiry into the ongoing issue of medicines shortages in England, focusing on their impact, contributing factors and potential solutions. As part of this inquiry, the APPG has issued a call for written evidence from key stakeholders across the healthcare sector, including pharmacists, pharmacy teams, GPs, prescribers, patient groups, professional organisations and medicines manufacturers and distributors. This inquiry comes in response to the growing concerns about the impact of medicines shortages on patient care and the challenges faced by pharmacy teams in dispensing medicines in a timely way. The APPG aims to develop practical recommendations to address this ongoing challenge and its impact.

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.

Pharmacists are being notified of a limited supply of hydrocortisone sodium phosphate 100mg/1ml solution for injection ampoules, with stock expected to be exhausted by late March 2025. The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has issued a medicine supply notification, indicating that resupply is not anticipated until May 2026. NHS provider Trust pharmacy procurement and clinical teams are advised to collaborate in reserving existing stock of the solution for injection, specifically for patients who require hydrocortisone sodium phosphate during an adrenal crisis. The DHSC added that this stock has an expiry date of June 2025. Hydrocortisone is used to replace steroids in individuals with adrenal insufficiency, such as those with Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia (CAH) or Addison's disease, where the adrenal glands produce insufficient natural steroids. People with adrenal insufficiency or anyone who is "steroid-dependent" require a hydrocortisone emergency injection kit to prevent an acute adrenal crisis, which can be life-threatening.