Pharmacists have warned that there is an antibiotic shortage across the UK right now, but the government has repeatedly denied it.
With Strep A cases increasing among children – an infection treated by antibiotics – a potential scarcity could be a pressing concern.
Here’s what we know so far.
Is there a higher demand for antibiotics right now?
Yes – the National Pharmacy Association has confirmed there’s been an increase in demand for some antibiotics, including those used to treat Strep A.
A Strep A infection usually causes a mild sore threat and a temperature, but in extreme cases, it can be life threatening.
Nine children have died from the infection, and there have been more than 800 cases of scarlet fever, which is why there is a particularly spotlight on the antibiotic supply right now.
In a statement, the NPA explained: “Pharmacies are having to work very hard to obtain stocks of these antibiotics and some lines are temporarily unavailable.
“We have been advised by wholesalers that most lines will be replenished soon, but we cannot say exactly when that will be.”
Director of the Pharmacists’ Defence Association, Paul Day, also explained that winter means there’s always a spike in demand for the antibiotics penicillin and amoxicillin as infections increase.
Crucially, Day emphasised to HuffPost UK that pharmacists are trying as hard as they can to meet demand, explaining: “The majority of pharmacists are not prescribers, although many are training to become so, hence currently the prescriptions and that diagnosis will mainly have been initiated by GPs.”
“Our members will, as always, be doing all they can to give patients the medicines and advice they need and community pharmacy remains the most accessible part of the health system,” he added.
Supply chain issues, rising costs around the world and a shortage of raw ingredients can all impact the supply of medicine here in the UK at a time when demand is higher too.
What have pharmacists said?
Leyla Hannabeck, CEO of the Association of Independent Multiple Pharmacies, told HuffPost UK: “The supply of antibiotics to pharmacies is very patchy and many have a lot of difficulty to source the products from wholesalers.
“The message they receive when trying to order is that the product is out of stock.”
She added that there has been an increase in the number of prescriptions for antibiotics, but pharmacies are now “on the front line without supply”.
She claimed that pharmacies have been raising this issue since the HRT (hormone replacement therapy) shortage earlier in 2022.
Hannabeck said pharmacists have been asking the Department for Health and Social Care to meet with manufacturers, suppliers and pharmacists to address the dysfunction of the system for a while now.
She claimed that the authorities going on broadcast rounds saying there is supply is “misleading”.
“I want to reassure the public that pharmacies are doing everything we can to get hold of antibiotics and we are pushing the government to identify where the blockage is,” Hannabeck added.
She is not the only person sounding the alarm over supplies.
GP pharmacist Siddiqur Rahman also tweeted on Tuesday that it was a “national emergency”, alongside screenshots of the antibiotics which are not available to order on the internal systems.
Pharmacy director Zeshan Rehmani has publicly said the Department of Health is “out of touch” when it refused to give antibiotics to children in schools affected by Strep A, considering there’s not even enough for the pharmacies.
“There’s no drugs. Today, we haven’t been able to get any penicillin in stock at all,” Rehmani claimed.
He said: “Pharmacists across the country are thinking we haven’t got enough penicillin to fill our prescriptions, let alone handing it out to schools.”
Despite these concerns, Thorrund Govind, the chair of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society, has urged the public not to self-diagnose and to speak to their GPs instead of resorting to using leftover antibiotics they may have.
How has the government responded?
Health secretary Steve Barclay told Sky News there was a “good supply” of penicillin, and that he had been reassured by medical suppliers.
However, he said some GPs may experience shortages as stock is moved around to meet demand.
“The medical suppliers are required to notify us if they’ve got shortages,” he explained.
“Now, sometimes, GPs can have particular surges if they’ve got a lot of demand in an area, and that’s quite routine, we can move the stock around our depots.”
Dr Colin Brown, UKHSA deputy director, previously told Sky News that long-standing guidance was in place to help the authorities assess the situation in schools.
But he said there was no evidence to suggest a change to the circulating strains of Strep A to make them more severe.
He suggested it came down to a lack of mixing during the pandemic, adding the susceptibility in children “bringing forward the normal scarlet fever season”.
