Members of the Senedd (MS) (Welsh Parliament) have heard how medicine shortages are affecting patients and leading to increased workloads and stress for pharmacy teams at an RPS Wales briefing.
The event followed the publication of the RPS report, Medicines Shortages: Solutions for Empty Shelves and saw several MSs attend to discuss the report's findings and recommendations with RPS Wales board members and staff.
Following the briefing, Sam Rowlands (the Shadow Minister for Health and Social Care) also tabled a ‘statement of opinion’ calling on his MS colleagues to:
- Recognise the impact of medicine shortages on patients
- Acknowledge the efforts of pharmacy teams across Wales in sourcing and supplying medicines
- Welcome the RPS report and for its recommendations to be implemented
The statement has since gained support from several MSs.
Following the event, RPS Wales Policy and Engagement Lead, Alwyn Fortune, highlighted the importance of the session:
“We regularly engage with the Senedd, where MSs are all too aware of the impact of medicine shortages through their constituents' experiences. This session was a valuable opportunity to delve into the factors driving shortages and to explain to them the practical steps to mitigate against them and minimise the impact on patients when shortages do occur.
“Throughout our discussions, we highlighted the tireless efforts of pharmacy teams in addressing shortages and ensuring patients receive the medicines they need. We also emphasised the report's key recommendations: implementing a cross-government strategy to address medicine shortages at a national level and amending UK legislation to empower community pharmacists to make minor amendments to prescriptions when medicines are unavailable."
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