Clare Independent TD Violet-Anne Wynne has spoken out following this week’s update from the Medicine Shortages Index that the number of out-of-stock medicines in Ireland now stands at 224.
“It is deeply concerning that the HSE has allowed the situation to spin out like this where we are in the grip of a respiratory tripledemic and people are unable to access essential antibiotics like amoxicillin and penicillin. Without these essential antibiotics and basics like paracetamol it will be impossible for some people, especially those who are immunocompromised to recover from a hard bout of flu or RSV.”
“Over the last year I have had very positive engagement with pharmacists and their representative organisation, the Irish Pharmacy Union (IPU). I fully support their calls for the Minister for Health to immediately introduce Serious Shortage Protocols which will allow pharmacists to supply alternative treatment in specific circumstances without having to contact the prescriber.
As it stands an increasing amount of pharmacist time is taken up with contacting prescribers to seek a change in medication where products are in short supply. Basically, what this means is that pharmacist time is being taken up by having to contact the GP who prescribed the treatment to seek an alternative. As a result of the current medicine shortage this situation is becoming more common every day.”
The Independent Clare Deputy called for these protocols to be implented swiftly; “In view of the current deepening crisis across both Ireland and the EU with respect to medicine supply, it is essential that the Minister has a plan in place to effectively deal with these contingencies and ensure that bottlenecks are not created in community pharmacies in the height of infection season. The IPU have assured me that for the most part at present a suitable alternative will be available in the event of running out, however this will have to be checked with the GP and tie up both the GP and the community pharmacist with unnecessary delays in offering care to more patients.
She continued; “Following extensive consultation with stakeholders last year, I strongly advocated for the development of a Chief Pharmaceutical Officer role within the Department of Health. The Minister confirmed at the time that his Department had no plans to develop the role but promised to continue engaging with the Irish Pharmacy Union on the issue into the future. I also asked him about the possibility of developing a fit-for-purpose pharmacy contract which reflects the needs of patients and supports the practice of community pharmacy. He confirmed that the Community Pharmacy Planning Forum had been set up to deal with pharmacy services during lockdown and now has pivoted its role to work on the strategic role of community pharmacies in the future of healthcare. The Minister said that he envisages community pharmacists playing ‘a vital and increasing role in delivering the right care, in the right place, at the right time’ into the future, so it is essential that he and his Department engage with pharmacists at the coal face and their representative bodies to understand the issues on the ground.
The Irish Pharmacy Union said; Medicine supply chains are complex and the reasons for shortages on the market are multifaceted and while there is no doubt that pricing is an issue there are various other reasons for medicine shortages including increased demand, issues with raw ingredients, supply logistics issues and manufacturing issues. As such the Irish Pharmacy Union would like to see a strategy on medicines shortages developed at Department of Health level that would assist in ensuring a steady supply of key medicines and also to allow pharmacists to utilise their skills as medicines experts thus reducing inefficiencies in the system and supporting better and more timely patient care.
Deputy Wynne concluded by saying that the news received in recent days that Ireland is being outbid by other EU member states and the UK for some medicines was concerning.
C“It is deeply unfortunate to see a situation where we are being outpriced by other countries for drugs that are being produced here in Ireland. With the news that some countries are paying double or in some cases up to four times what we pay for drugs here it is time for the Department to reasess purchase strategies to ensure that Irish people aren’t left without essential medications going forward. I hope that the situation arising with medicine has been noted by the Department and that the Minister will work to ensure that we do not end up in the same situation during next year’s flu season.”