Petition Department of Health should take immediate action to resolve medicine shortages!

The Department of Health should take immediate action to tackle problems in the medicines supply chain to resolve medicines stock shortages and reduce harm to patients.

The Government should address the following concerns raised in a damning report by the Chemist and Druggist magazine:

● Patients are suffering harm in three out of four cases of medicine shortages. In the majority of cases, patients suffered moderate harm, but in 12 per cent of cases pharmacists believed their patient was severely harmed.

● Pharmacists are spending an average of two working days a month ringing around manufacturers and wholesalers to get hold of out-of-stock medicines
.
● Typically, they have to wait three days for an emergency stock delivery.

● Manufacturers are failing to meet government guidelines – which say that pharmacists should receive medicines within 24 hours of ordering – in at least six in every 10 cases.