A warning has been issued over a shortage of cough and cold medicines being available in pharmacies as winter illnesses skyrocket.
Pharmacy leaders have reported that throat lozenges, cough mixtures, and some painkillers are among those in short supply. The association of Independent Multiple Pharmacies highlighted that there are supply issues of both branded and unbranded medicines commonly used to treat seasonal illnesses.
It comes after the UK Health Security Agency warned that winter illnesses such as flu and Covid-19 are continuing to circulate across the country at "high levels". Because of this, officials are urging people to keep children with a fever off school while unwell adults should wear face masks to help prevent the spread of infections.
Read more: Manchester United fans caught up in 'chaos' in ginnel in major police incident after match
The association added that the latest shortages show there were issues with the supply chain and suggested that a "lack of planning" from government officials was to blame. Chief executive Leyla Hannbeck told PA New agency: "Pharmacists are struggling to obtain the very basic, most common cold and flu medicine.
"This isn’t just the branded medicines, it is also simple things like throat lozenges, cough mixtures or pain killers – particularly the ones that are soluble. The demand has been high because this season we’ve seen higher cases of colds and flu and people are obviously trying very hard to look after themselves and making sure that they use the relevant products to manage the symptoms.
“And that has led to a shortage of these products in terms of us not being able to obtain them.”
Ms Hannbeck added: “But this is part of a bigger issue – from HRT to antibiotics to this, we are constantly finding ourselves in a situation when as soon as the demand for something goes up we are struggling with the supply. Unfortunately part of that is a lack of planning by officials (at the Department of Health and Social Care) in terms of foreseeing the problems and trying to plan in advance to sort it.
“For example, with cold and flu, we knew some months ago cases were going up and it was anticipated that there would be higher demand for these products. So you would have thought that plans would have been in place in terms of managing this with regards to liaising with manufacturers and getting the products in.”
She stressed that the supply issues is increasing the pressure already faced by the NHS. She added: "What we are seeing, which is concerning, when people go to pharmacies and try and get hold of the products over the counter, particularly for small children, then people start to stress and panic and what we don’t want to happen is for more people to go to their GP or A&E when the NHS is already under a lot of strain.”
“It comes back to a broader issue of our supply chain not functioning properly.
“And every time there is demand for something – like with Strep A (which saw a spike in demand for antibiotics) cases were going up in October, and then in early December the Government said there were no supply issues – when clearly there were supply issues – and then they had to issue a serious shortage protocol which demonstrates that there actually is a supply issue.
“So it becomes trouble shooting rather than having robust plans to sort problems out.”
She added: “If you’re in denial that there are supply issues, if you don’t want to admit there is a problem, how can you find solutions? On the front line it is very difficult because we’re seeing these shortages but those people who are in charge of supporting us with it are denying it.”
However, Ms Hannbeck stressed that pharmacists do not want people to panic and that support for patients will be made available, which may include alternatives. Meanwhile, high street chain Superdrug said it had seen a huge demand for cough and cold medicines.
Niamh McMillan Superdrug pharmacy superintendent said: “We are currently experiencing exceptionally high demand for cold and flu products. If your usual products are unavailable and you’re looking to relieve your symptoms, our pharmacists can offer advice on the most appropriate pain relief and decongestant products to help you.”
Read next:
- 'They have let the city down': Fury over former Debenhams site as threat issued to developer
- Soccer school set up by Manchester United and England icon that helped discover David Beckham collapses
- Disabled woman trapped on ice for 20 minutes after bin dumped in wrong place
- Paedophile caught for a second time trying to meet boy in Greater Manchester park
- Man rushed to hospital with serious injuries after being hit by vehicle near Old Trafford ground
