Cough and cold medicine shortages in the UK are the result of a “lack of planning” by ministers, pharmacy leaders say.
Rishi Sunak’s Conservatives were accused of “being in denial” as supply chain problems worsen, with pharmacists reporting shortages of cold and flu drugs.
The Association of Independent Multiple Pharmacies said throat lozenges, cough mixtures and some pain relievers are among the medicines affected, following problems with the supply of antibiotics and HRT last year.
“Pharmacists are struggling to get basic and most common cold and flu medicine,” chief executive Leyla Hannbeck told the PA news agency. “It’s not just the branded medicines, it’s also simple things like throat lozenges, cough mixtures or pain relievers, especially those that are soluble.
“Demand has been high because we’ve seen more cases of colds and flu this season and people are obviously putting a lot of effort into looking after themselves and making sure they’re using the relevant products to manage symptoms.
“And that has led to a shortage of these products so we can’t get them.”
The UK’s Health Safety Agency has warned that winter illnesses such as flu and Covid continue to circulate at “high levels”. As a result, officials urged people to keep children with fevers out of school and urged sick adults to wear face masks to slow the spread of infections.
Hannbeck added: “Unfortunately, part of this is a lack of planning on the part of officials in terms of anticipating problems and trying to plan ahead to solve them.
“For example, with the cold and flu, we knew that a few months ago cases were increasing and it was predicted that there would be a greater demand for these products.
“So you would have thought that plans would have been put in place in terms of handling that in terms of connecting with the manufacturers and getting the products on board.”
Not being able to access self-care products in pharmacies is putting more pressure on the NHS, he added.
Niamh McMillan, Pharmacy Superintendent at Superdrug, said: “We are currently experiencing exceptionally high demand for cold and flu products.
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“If your usual products are not available and you want to relieve your symptoms, our pharmacists can offer advice on the most appropriate pain relief and decongestant products to help.”
Meanwhile, a Boots spokesperson added: “General availability of cough and cold relief in our UK stores is good and sufficient to meet current demand.
“There may be temporary shortages in some stores of a particular brand, for example Lemsip, but there will almost always be suitable alternatives available.”
Health Minister Will Quince met with Hannbeck on Wednesday to discuss issues related to community pharmacy.
A spokesman for the Department of Health and Social Care said: “We are aware of reports of problems with the availability of some branded cold and flu medicines. They appear to be temporary and localized but we are working with providers to research and help ensure over-the-counter cold and flu medicines are available.”