Member News
By Huw Irranca-Davies MP - 24th November 2011
Huw Irranca-Davies MP calls on the Health Secretary to act on a 'patient service obligation' to avoid harm to patients.
Until a constituent walked through my door nearly a year ago to tell me about the problems her pharmacist was having in finding supplies of the cancer drug she desperately needed, I'd never thought there was a problem with the supply of crucial NHS medicines. Like most of us, I assumed that if I was prescribed medication, then it would be widely available. But little did I know of the systemic problem we face in ensuring the supply of life-saving medicines.
Across the country pharmacists are being denied supplies of medicines – for amongst other conditions, asthma, diabetes, epilepsy and depression – that their patients need to stay in good health. In the midst of coming to terms with a serious medical condition, the last thing you or I would want is to face the situation, and fear, of not being able to receive treatment, or have it interrupted, because there is a problem obtaining our medicine.
I have seen in my own constituency the hoops that pharmacists are being obliged to jump through to obtain certain medicines. All too often they need to ring around other pharmacists in the hope that they've got the medicines available, or spend time on the phone to the wholesaler or drug manufacturer, or send faxes with copies of prescriptions to manufacturers, in a desperate effort to find supplies for their patients. On too many occasions, they are being told that there is no stock available from the wholesaler or manufacturer.
Pharmacists, drug manufacturers and wholesalers all recognise that this is a complex problem with a number of causes. Contributory factors include the legitimate trade in medicines across European borders linked to the weak pound, the number of wholesalers in the UK, and quota systems introduced by manufacturers to control stock.
In March 2010, the then Secretary of State for Health, Andy Burnham, held a summit meeting of all the industry stakeholders and formulated an action plan; but it took until February 2011 for the Department of Health to publish guidance, and as 2012 approaches a solution is still not in sight – a situation noted by the all-party pharmacy group this week when it announced that it will hold a full-scale inquiry into the continuing problem of shortages of NHS medicines.
The continuity of some public services is so important to wellbeing that we impose universal service obligations on the service providers. This is the case for water, power, telephone and mail. Since access to medicines can sometimes be just as important, a 'patient service obligation' must now be considered to guarantee uninterrupted supply of medicines.
A number of other European countries have recognised this problem and responded by introducing such an obligation on the medicines supply chain. And that is why I – supported by pharmacists and patient representatives – will call during today's Adjournment Debate for the Secretary of State for Health, Andrew Lansley, to act urgently on a 'patient service obligation' to prevent serious patient harm.
The fact that this issue may not be filling MP constituency mailbags is testament to the sheer effort of pharmacists in hunting down stock so that patients are, more often than not, unaffected. It is not an indication that all is well. We must not wait for a tragedy to happen, but instead take decisive action now.
Huw Irranca-Davies has been the Labour member of parliament for Ogmore since 2002. He is currently the Shadow Minister for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
Dods Parliamentary Communications Ltd