Health officials meet to discuss medicine shortages 

Health Minister Stephen Donnelly commended the work of stakeholders.

The Department of Health has met with key stakeholders in the health sector to try to address the ongoing medicines shortage.

Over 200 products are currently out of stock as demand for certain products is two to three times higher than normal at this time of year due to rising levels of RSV, flu and Covid.

The meeting between industry, health sector, and patient representatives, officials from the Department of Health, and the Health Products Regulatory Authority (HPRA) took place this morning.

Health Minister Stephen Donnelly said: "At my request the Department of Health today held a multistakeholder event to listen to the experiences of all parties, to update on work ongoing to manage this situation, and to discuss any further potential actions deemed appropriate during this period. I look forward to hearing the outcome of this meeting and supporting my officials in ensuring all suitable actions are progressed."

Mr Donnelly commended the work of stakeholders in the management of the shortages, noting prescribers and pharmacists in particular.

He said the shortage issue is being mirrored across EU countries. 

The Minister added: "Ireland very much welcomes this Commission-led approach to addressing this pan-European problem and is encouraged by the long-term solutions being put in place at EU level.” 

Surge in demand

Almost 40% of medicinal shortages in Ireland are down to an “unexpected increase in demand”.

Of all products out of stock at this time the Department of Health says there are none for which there is no suitable clinical alternative.

They also rebuked claims that companies are citing prices as a reason for shortages.

The HSE has established an Incident Management Team (IMT) to address shortages of antibiotics and has issued several memos to support prescribers and pharmacists at this time.

Some products which are out of stock are not expected to be available in Ireland until the end of May at the earliest, while others have no return date predicted at the moment.