Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps the Government is taking to tackle (a) domestic and (b) global antibiotics shortages.

The Department’s focus is on helping to ensure continuity of supply of medicines, including antibiotics, for United Kingdom patients. We use a range of tools and follow well-established processes to manage and mitigate medicine supply issues, working closely with the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, the pharmaceutical industry, NHS England, Devolved Governments and others operating in the supply chain, to help prevent shortages and to ensure that the risks to patients are minimised when they do arise.

The recent supply issues affecting antibiotics used to treat Strep A appear to be improving, as decisive action has been taken to boost supply and demand has reduced. We are continuing to work with manufacturers and wholesalers to ensure that they expedite deliveries, bring forward stock they have to make sure it gets to where it is needed, and boost supply to meet demand. We have issued eight Serious Shortage Protocols to allow pharmacists to supply an alternative form of penicillin V, or alternative antibiotic, to make things easier for them, patients, and general practitioners.

We understand from our engagement with industry and other stakeholders that other countries have also experienced supply issues with antibiotics over recent months. We are working with our global partners, to share information and intelligence and and work together to address those issues.