The Community Pharmacy NI is warning that prescription medications could run out ‘within weeks’.
The organisation has issued the stark warning due to shortages and skyrocketing prices.
If left to deteriorate without Department of Health intervention, community pharmacists in the North have said they will not be able to afford to pay for commonly prescribed drugs used to treat conditions including osteoporosis, high blood pressure, insomnia, mental health and coronary conditions.
Gerard Greene, Chief Executive of Community Pharmacy NI says the threat to the supply of vital medicines is very real.
He says the source of the issue is that Northern Ireland does not have a workable Drug Tariff for dispensing medicines and that the critical drug supply issue being faced shows that the Department must reform the funding structures for community pharmacies.
