Question reference: S6W-00456
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
- Date lodged: 3 June 2021
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Current status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 18 June 2021
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what medicines or other products are unavailable from the free prescription service due to shortages of supply, broken down by (a) the reason for each shortage, (b) when it expects each shortage to be resolved and (c) whether it will allow a substitution option for each medicine or product until supplies resume.
Answer
Shortages of medicines are an ongoing part of the day to day management of the NHS. The pricing and supply of medicines are reserved to the UK Government. The Scottish Government have regular engagement with the UK Government regarding the management medicine shortages as part of the UK Medicine Shortage Response Group.
Medicine shortages can occur for a range of reasons including supplier difficulty in sourcing core ingredients, removal of drugs from pharmaceutical provider lists and international supply issues. Most shortages are short in nature. Shortages are ameliorated by prescribing alternative medicines or therapeutics until a shortage is over. Information on current and ongoing supply issues relating to individual drugs or devices is shared by NHS Scotland via Medicine Supply Alert Notices (MSAN) with the relevant networks within the service to help prescribers and dispensers meet patients’ on-going medical needs. MSANs are published at SHOW - SGHSC - Scottish Government Health and Social Care Directorates . The NHS Scotland Prescribing Advisers’ Network provides support to prescribers on the use of alternative products.