Patient Information
Medication Supply and Medication Shortages
Patients are requested to
- Only order the medicines that they need, and not to request prescribers to increase quantities of medication prescribed in order to stockpile medications.
- Check the expiry date of any unused medication at home, and if in date use these medications first.
Please do not order extra medication.
Medication Shortages
There are a number of reasons why community pharmacies may not always be able to get medication that is prescribed on patient’s prescriptions.
These include:
- Manufacturers having problems with manufacturing unit and medication therefore not meeting quality standards for use
- Manufacturers having difficulty in obtaining ‘raw’ ingredients
- More patients being prescribed a particular medication
Medication Supply – Brexit
The Government has asked patients not to order extra medicines in the run up to Brexit. They have also asked suppliers and pharmacists not to stockpile medicines and GPs not to prescribe more medicines than they usually would. This is because overprescribing, and stockpiling of medicines can contribute to the shortage problems and create medicine shortages for others. Patients should be assured that the Government has contingency plans with regard to medication supplies, including centrally holding additional supplies.