Question reference: S6W-22392
- Asked by: Sue Webber, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
- Date lodged: 24 October 2023
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Current status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 6 November 2023
Question
To ask the Scottish Government when it anticipates that the reported shortage of the drug, Antabuse, will end, and what action it can take in the future to avoid shortages of drugs such as Antabuse from occurring.
Answer
The Scottish Government is aware that there was a UK-wide supply issue with the availability of Antabuse® (disulfiram) tablets earlier this year. The supply disruption has now been stabilised and supplies of Antabuse® (disulfiram) tablets are returning to normal levels.
The pricing and the supply of medicines is currently reserved matter for the UK Government. We continue to engage with the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) and we will continue to monitor the situation.
In the event of a medicine shortage, the NHS in Scotland has robust processes in place to manage supply issues when they do arise. Normally there are alternative products which can be prescribed and dispensed.