Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure that people in a) Newcastle-under-Lyme, b) Staffordshire and c) England with Huntington's disease are able to access hyoscine hydrobromide.

We are aware that hyoscine hydrobromide 1.5 milligram patches are currently out of stock and we are in dialogue with the manufacturer. We do not hold information on stock availability locally, however, this product is currently unavailable across the United Kingdom.

The resupply date has yet to be confirmed by the supplier, however, to minimise the impact on patients, we have issued comprehensive management guidance to the National Health Service, including all general practitioners (GPs) and community pharmacists, on alternative products, including unlicensed hyoscine hydrobromide. The decision on whether to prescribe an unlicensed medicine rests with the prescriber.

Patients/patient representatives should speak to their GP or specialist on the most appropriate treatment option, taking into account the licensed and unlicensed alternatives available.

We continue to work with the supplier and the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, as appropriate, to resolve the issue as soon as possible.

The vast majority of the UK’s licensed medicines are in good supply and to make sure this remains the case, we are investing more in the domestic medicine manufacturing industry.