Patients who depend on antibiotics for chronic conditions have shown how far they have had to go to get the drugs, and pharmacies are warning of continued shortages.
Pharmacies say staff are working overtime as they continue stockpiling some antibiotics after a surge in demand wiped out many local stocks.
Some people with immune thrombocytopenia (ITP), an autoimmune disease, have their spleen removed, which means they can either take antibiotics long-term or have them with them in case of an infection.
Mervyn Morgan of the ITP Support Association said some of the patients he spoke to were only able to trace their prescriptions after they “called several pharmacies.”
According to Caroline Andrew, co-founder of the Campaign to Combat Chronic Urinary Tract Infections (CUTIC), patients with chronic urinary tract infections (UTIs) are also being forced to turn to alternative medicines.
Patients with chronic urinary tract infections are often prescribed a longer course of antibiotics, sometimes taking more than a year for the embedded infection to heal.
Professor Claire Anderson, president of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS), said supply issues are leaving patients “worried” while pharmacists “keep their finger on the pulse and are under tremendous pressure to track down the medicines patients need for hours.”
The RPS urged manufacturers, wholesalers and the government to “speed up supplies to meet demand for antibiotics.”
They called for changes to the law to “simplify and speed up the entire dispensing process for both pharmacists and patients” by allowing pharmacists to make simple changes to prescriptions to minimize the impact of drug supply problems on patient care.
Meanwhile, according to the National Pharmaceutical Association (NPA), pharmacies said they were operating at “financial losses” due to antibiotic shortages, which peaked in December 2022 after expensive alternatives were distributed to patients.
The Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC) said pharmacies are still awaiting “urgent confirmation” later this month that they will not have to bear the costs of alternative medicines themselves.
This comes after the UK government issued severe shortage protocols (SSPs) for three forms of penicillin, allowing pharmacists to supply alternative forms of the drug if they don’t have a specific formulation in a prescription.
The measure was taken on December 15 to alleviate shortages caused by an outbreak of invasive Streptococcus A, a bacterial infection that has killed at least 24 children since September 2022.
Some pharmacies are “still struggling to access supplies in many areas” as the December shortage was “a major and critical issue that cannot be resolved overnight,” said Suraj Shah, PSNC’s pricing and reimbursement manager.
“We hope that the severe shortage protocols and the work of manufacturers and wholesalers should have a positive impact and make it easier for some patients to access the medicines they need. But we are careful: this was a serious and critical issue that cannot be resolved overnight,” he said.
“Pharmacists still have to work very hard to give patients what they need, they are still struggling to access supplies in many areas and they urgently need confirmation this month that they have covered them.” the medicine itself.”
Meanwhile, the NPA said December’s antibiotic supply shortfall “has not been fully resolved” as liquid antibiotics, often prescribed to children, remain “particularly hard to come by.”
According to NPA board member Amish Patel, pharmacies seem to be working hard to avoid the constant shortage experienced by patients.
But many pharmacies remain in power because they have to give patients more expensive drugs. “Due to higher wholesale prices, pharmacies often sell antibiotics and many other drugs at a financial loss,” Patel said. I.
It happens after I reported that tens of thousands of Britons could soon be left without a local pharmacy if the government does not provide emergency funding to the sector, which is in a “crisis point”.
This is because the state is increasingly leaving them without money for the medicines they provide to their patients, often with a big difference between the amounts they spend on medicines and the amounts they get back.
A spokesman for the Department of Health and Human Services said: “Increased demand for prescription antibiotics for Strep A means some pharmacists cannot supply prescription drugs.
“With the severe shortage protocols we have published, pharmacists can offer an alternative form of penicillin or an alternative antibiotic, making life easier for patients, pharmacists and general practitioners.
“We are taking decisive action to address these temporary challenges and improve access to these medicines by continuing to work with manufacturers and wholesalers to speed up shipments, pre-load inventory so it gets to where it is needed, and increase supply to meet demand. Ask as soon as possible.”
Source: I News
I’m Raymond Molina, a professional writer and journalist with over 5 years of experience in the media industry. I currently work for 24 News Reporters, where I write for the health section of their news website. In my role, I am responsible for researching and writing stories on current health trends and issues. My articles are often seen as thought-provoking pieces that provide valuable insight into the state of society’s wellbeing.