A pharmacy owner has warned that the UK is facing its most severe drug shortage on record, with prices for everyday medicines skyrocketing and leaving patients at risk. Mo Almobaraki, who runs two pharmacies in Bristol, said it has become 'increasingly difficult to obtain very basic medicine' such as aspirin, heart medication, and blood pressure drugs.
Mr Almobaraki, a pharmacist of 26 years, revealed that the price of a statin medication shot up 'overnight' from £1 to £22. With around five million people in England taking statins to lower cholesterol, he said 'thousands, maybe millions' of packets are dispensed daily, but pharmacies are forced to pay over the odds while the NHS reimbursement rate remains unchanged.
'Either we refuse to give it to the patients because we are unable to obtain it or if we are able to obtain it we have to pay extra, above the reimbursements from the NHS,' he said. The shortfall 'will incur a loss for the pharmacy so we are actually working in the negative'.
Mr Almobaraki noted that the problem has been worsening since the pandemic and is now compounded by the Pharmacy First scheme, which increased demand for medicines. He urged the government to 'step in in terms of availability and negotiate a better deal with wholesalers'.
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: 'The overwhelming majority of medicines are in good supply, but we know how frustrating shortages can be. We have well-established procedures to manage them and work closely with industry, the NHS, and others to prevent disruptions.'
