Medicines wholesaler backs pharmacists' warning over Northern Ireland prescription drugs supply

An organisation representing hundreds of local pharmacies, Community Pharmacy NI, issued a stark warning last month that drugs used to treat health conditions including osteoporosis, high blood pressure, insomnia, mental health and coronary conditions could soon be unavailable with a “very real” threat to the supply.

The Department of Health, however, pointed to "immediate interventions worth over £5.3 million" that it said would help pharmacists deal with the rising costs.

Now, however, the managing director of the largest pharmacy wholesaler in Northern Ireland, Numark, has said the £5.3 million on offer from the Stormont government isn't enough.

In a statement, Numark's Jeremy Meader said: "It simply cannot be acceptable that if the situation deteriorates further there is a real risk that community pharmacists may no longer be able to afford to pay for commonly prescribed drugs."

He continued: "Customers tell us that they have never seen such astronomical prices and fluctuations which combined with medicine shortages and under-funding poses a significant risk to patient access to essential care. These are not created by wholesalers, but a reimbursement mechanism which is no longer fit-for-purpose for today’s medicine supply chain in Northern Ireland."

Mr Meader added: "The Department’s recent offer of £5.3m falls far short of Community Pharmacy Northern Ireland’s (CPNI) estimate of what is required to address a £20-30 million funding reduction."