Question reference: S6W-26199
- Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
- Date lodged: 14 March 2024
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Current status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 26 March 2024
Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to a supplementary to question S6O-03191 by Jenni Minto on 13 March 2024, whether the ADHD medication, lisdexamfetamine, may be considered a specialist medicine so that NHS National Services Scotland could potentially explore alternative procurement options within devolved competence through its national procurement service.
Answer
The Scottish Government has no plans to designate lisdexamfetamine (Elvanse ® ) as a specialist medicine or to explore options for commissioning the direct procurement of this medicine through National Services Scotland’s NHS National Procurement.
Manufacturing issues and increased global demand are the main reasons for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) medicine supply issues and as such it is unlikely that a central procurement of lisdexamfetamine (Elvanse ® ) or of any other ADHD medicine would offer an effective solution. This is anticipated to be a short term problem.
The regulatory powers on the supply of medicines, are reserved to the UK Government and the Department of Health and Social Care’s Medicines Supply Team are co-ordinating the shortage of ADHD medicines at a UK level. Advice has been issued to healthcare professionals including on the availability of unlicensed imports. In addition, the UK Government has added lisdexamfetamine (Elvanse ® ) to the restricted medicines lists – which means it cannot be exported out of the UK.
The Scottish Government recognises the impact of these global shortages on people living with ADHD and their families. Scottish Government officials continue to engage with the UK Government on this supply issue and other shortages. NHS Scotland has robust systems in place to manage medicine shortages when they arise. Anyone affected by this issue should speak to their clinical team.