The NHS is ‘only days’ away from some critical supplies running out because of the Iran war, its chief executive has warned.
Sir Jim Mackey, the head of NHS England, said he is ‘really worried’ about a potential shortage of supplies such as syringes, masks and surgical instruments.
Deliveries have been directly affected by Iran’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz and the wider disruption to global shipping.
The blockade of the Strait has already pushed up oil prices and is expected to have a major knock-on effect on the rate of inflation.
Sir Jim’s comments come after pharmacy leaders expressed fears that the conflict could worsen existing medicine shortages.
He told LBC Radio: ‘We are really worried about this. We’ve already had a couple of supply shocks in the last 12,18, months or so.
‘We’ve got a team stood up in NHS England, across the NHS, to focus on where the risks may be through the supply chains, across government process, working out into NHS organisations.’
Sir Jim said the crisis is could impact drugs and wider medical supplies, stressing: ‘Honestly, everything. Everything is at risk.’
He said the NHS was heavily dependent on international suppliers and the amount of products in stock in England varies.
‘It depends what you’re talking about,’ he continued. ‘In every area we’ve got enough to get through for a reasonable period. So generally, a few weeks.
‘Because things perish and it costs money to store and, you know, various other things go out of use. You can’t hold years and years of supply.
‘So generally, depending on the product, you keep a reasonable period. And there’s some of that held centrally and locally people will be making decisions.
‘It could be days for some product, depending on what it is.’
The UK imports about three quarters of its drugs and many others made from materials that are shipped from the likes of China and India.
So far this year, UK pharmacies have struggled to secure stocks of some painkillers, antidepressants, blood pressure drugs, and hormone replacement therapies.
Dr Leyla Hannbeck, chief executive of the Independent Pharmacies Association, said: ‘Today’s warning from Sir Jim Mackey reinforces what we have been saying for some time.
‘Medicine shortages pose a serious and growing threat to patients across the UK, and the Government must act now to ensure people are not left without the vital treatments they depend on.
‘The Government must move at pace by immediately adding the 150 most at-risk medicines to the export ban list, appointing a medicines shortages Tsar within days to drive action across government, creating a national Critical Medicines List to protect essential treatments, and formally recognising medicines shortages as a national security risk.
‘Pharmacies will continue to do everything possible to shield patients from the worst effects of these shortages, but without urgent and meaningful support from the Government, there is only so much we can do with our hands tied behind our backs.’
On Monday, a Government spokesperson said: ‘There are currently no reported medicine shortages as a result of conflict in the Middle East.
‘We continue to monitor the situation closely for any impacts on the medical supply chain.
‘The department actively monitors emerging threats to supply resilience and has established processes in place to manage disruption across the health and social care sector.’
