Cough and cold medicines are in short supply because of a lack of planning by the government, pharmacy leaders say.
Ministers have been “in denial” over problems with the drug supply chain, according to the Association of Independent Multiple Pharmacies. Leyla Hannbeck, its chief executive, said pharmacists were struggling to get hold of remedies including throat lozenges, cough mixtures and certain pain killers.
The UK Health Security Agency is warning that winter illnesses including flu, Covid-19, respiratory syncytial virus and strep A are circulating at high levels. Hannbeck said: “Pharmacists are struggling to obtain the very basic, most common cold and flu medicine.”
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Lemsip’s manufacturer has acknowledged that it has struggled to meet demand, and Hannbeck said a range of items, including Day and Night Nurse, and own-brand cold and flu treatments, were “difficult to get hold of”.
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She said that this reflected a bigger issue, with similar problems having been experienced in the past year, such as access to hormone replacement therapy and antibiotics for strep A infections.
She said: “We are constantly finding ourselves in a situation when as soon as the demand for something goes up we are struggling. Part of that is a lack of planning by officials in foreseeing the problems and trying to sort it.”
Many issues stemmed from shortages of raw ingredients from the Far East, where supplies were affected by lockdowns in China or high rates of coronavirus infection in India.
Not being able to access self-care products in pharmacies was leading to more pressure on the NHS, she added.
“When people go to pharmacies and try and get hold of the products over the counter, particularly for small children, then people start to stress and panic and what we don’t want to happen is for more people to go to their GP or A&E.”
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Last month the government issued a serious shortage protocol in the face of a lack of antibiotics to treat strep A, allowing pharmacists to substitute certain types of the drug. Hannbeck said this reflected a system “troubleshooting rather than having robust plans to sort problems out”.
Yesterday she spoke to Will Quince, the health minister, who was receptive. She added: “Let’s see what he does.”
Superdrug said it had seen huge demand for cough and cold medicines.
Boots added: “General availability of cough and cold relief at our stores across the UK is good, and enough to meet current demand. There may be temporary shortages in some stores of a particular brand, eg Lemsip, but there will almost always be alternatives.”
The Department of Health and Social Care said it was aware of low availability of some brands and added: “These appear to be temporary and localised, but we are engaging with suppliers to help ensure that over-the-counter cold and flu medicines remain available.”
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The symptoms of a cold can make you miserable (Kat Lay writes). However, several of the official recommendations on treatment do not rely on medication.
The NHS says that rest and sleep can help you get better more quickly. It also suggests drinking plenty of water, or fruit juice or squash mixed with water, to avoid dehydration.
Adults can also try gargling saltwater to soothe a sore throat.
If you opt for medication, painkillers such as paracetamol or ibuprofen can help to ease aches and reduce a high temperature. Pharmacists can advise on alternatives if your usual remedy is out of stock.
The active ingredients of Lemsip, for example, are paracetamol and the decongestant phenylephrine hydrochloride. Buying those separately and having a hot drink of honey and lemon may have a soothing effect.
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Flu has similar symptoms but tends to be more severe and can appear in a few hours. Sufferers tend to be too exhausted and unwell to carry on as normal. But guidance for self-care is much the same — rest and sleep, drink plenty of water and keep warm, managing aches and pains with paracetamol or ibuprofen.
NHS 111 can offer advice if people are worried about their symptoms or are particularly vulnerable.
