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Some 86% of pharmacies had experienced a shortage of aspirin (Image: Getty)<\/p>\n
Medicine shortages that pose a significant risk to people\u2019s health should be treated as a national security issue, a House of Lords<\/a> committee has warned. Pharmacies have reported widespread shortages of common drugs in recent months and years, including aspirin and blood pressure<\/a> medication needed to prevent heart attacks<\/a> and strokes.<\/p>\n An inquiry by the House of Lords Public Services Committee found the Government was not proactively protecting the UK from fragile support chains and instead focused on reacting to shortages. Baroness Morris of Yardley, who chaired the\u00a0Committee\u00a0during this inquiry, said shortages were \u201cnot given the attention needed given the enormous impact on the country if problems arise\u201d. She added: \u201cThere is a general lack of oversight and leadership to address current shortcomings across the medicines supply and manufacturing process.<\/p>\n READ MORE: Pharmacies resort to \u2018rationing\u2019 after shortage of common medicine <\/a><\/p>\n READ MORE: Urgent warning issued to anyone taking insulin and warfarin <\/a><\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve set out a number of recommendations in our report which should help tackle the issues raised.<\/p>\n “Chief amongst these is the need for better communication of any shortages to GPs, hospitals and pharmacies so they can take necessary action to support patients and more importantly, the recognition that medicines supply chain resilience is a national security issue that should be on the national security risk register and prioritised accordingly.\u201d<\/p>\n The report comes after a survey of 540 chemists by the National Pharmacy Association (NPA) found 86% had been unable to supply\u00a0aspirin<\/a>\u00a0in the week to January 20.<\/p>\n Some had paused over the counter sales to keep stock for patients with the most acute heart conditions or in need of emergency prescriptions.<\/p>\n Some 50.9 million items of\u00a0Aspirin\u00a0were prescribed in the UK between January and October last year, making it one of the most commonly used drugs in the country.<\/p>\n