Pharmacist issues warning to 5 million Brits over statins - 'people are worried'

Pharmacist issues warning to 5 million Brits over statins - 'people are worried' The pharmacy owner also alerted users of HRT, Creon and beta blockers, along with blood pressure and heart medication A pharmacy owner has issued a warning to the millions of people in the UK who take statins. Mo Almobaraki, 57, who runs two pharmacies in Bristol, says it has become "increasingly difficult to obtain very basic medicine" such as aspirin, heart medication or blood pressure medication. He warned that the 'most severe drug shortage on record' has caused the price of everyday medicines to rocket, leaving him "so concerned". He revealed that beta blockers, heart or blood pressure medication, HRT (hormone replacement therapy) and Creon - used for those with pancreatic insufficiency - are all proving difficult to source. The pharmacy owner of 20 years said that last week the price of a statin medication, used to lower cholesterol in the blood, shot up "overnight" from £1 to £22. It follows comments from Olivia Picard, chair of the National Pharmacy Association (NPA), which represents 6,000 independent community pharmacies across the UK, who warned that medicine shortages are currently "some of the most severe the UK has ever experienced". Mo, who has worked in the industry for 26 years, said: "People are worried about their medication - elderly people - and they can't get it. It's just so difficult and so concerning." Pharmacies buy medicines and are reimbursed by the NHS, but Mo says his business is being forced to pay over the odds for drugs as prices have climbed while the NHS-set reimbursement rate for each medicine has remained unchanged. With approximately five million people in England currently taking statins, Mo explained that "thousands, maybe millions" of packets of this medication are dispensed to patients daily, yet pharmacies are left footing the bill. "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. Mo noted that the shortfall "will incur a loss for the pharmacy so we are actually working in the negative". He said: "This is our difficulty. If we can't get it, that will have an impact on patient safety. The patient is either left without medication or the patient has to run around between different pharmacies. "It has an impact on our time. You have to ring different suppliers, you have to ring different wholesalers, you have to ring the [doctor's] surgery to get an alternative. It's just been so hard, so difficult." Mo emphasised it didn't begin "last week". "It's just been getting worse since the lockdown, the pandemic, I think it's getting worse and worse and worse," he said. Creon and Estradot regulatuions Serious Shortage Protocols (SSPs) have been active for Creon since May 2024 and were extended by the NHS in April until July 10, marking a new record, while Estradot, an HRT medication, has had an SSP since Dec 2024 and has also been extended by the NHS in April to run until July 10. Mo also reveals his business is being "squeezed really hard on both sides", not only due to the lack of affordable or available medication but also because of the introduction of patient consultations through the Pharmacy First scheme in early 2024. The scheme allows NHS pharmacies to supply prescriptions for minor ailments and was intended to ease pressure on the NHS, but the shortage of available medicines combined with growing demand from the Pharmacy First scheme means the business is being "squeezed" from both directions. The pharmacy owner believes the government has "an important role to control that shortage" and is urging it to "step in in terms of availability and negotiate a better deal with wholesalers," because "at pharmacy level, I don't know what's created that shortage of medicine". He adds: "The Government needs to step in and to support pharmacies because we are kind of 'hands tied' in obtaining medicine. "If we obtain it we have to pay extra to get it for the patient's safety. "Ethically, we cannot say we cannot dispense your prescription because it is well above what we're reimbursed. We're not able to say that, so we have no option. If we obtain it, we buy it at a loss and we give it to the patient. It all just has an impact on the pharmacy and basically has an impact on the patients." A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “The overwhelming majority of medicines licensed in the UK are in good supply and patients should know that when visiting the pharmacy, their prescriptions will be available.“Ensuring there is robust supply of medicines is vital and this government is making significant investments in the UK medicine manufacturing industry to strengthen it.”