The report on an APPG inquiry into the issue concludes that shortages have become a constant and growing threat to NHS care and patient safety. It outlines how medicines shortages are disrupting treatment for patients, increasing pressure on overstretched pharmacy teams, and adding hundreds of millions in costs to the NHS.

The APPG is now calling for urgent action to safeguard patient care and provide pharmacy teams with the support they need to manage these pressures safely and sustainably. Its report recommends:

• reform of the Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework
• national, real-time system to communicate shortages to healthcare professionals
• greater flexibility for pharmacists to substitute medicines
• investment in UK-based manufacturing of medicines and ingredients
• an independent review of the UK medicines supply chain.

In response, Janet Morrison, chief executive of Community Pharmacy England, said: ‘The APPG's inquiry is yet another strong piece of evidence highlighting the medicines supply situation. Medicine supply issues are a constant worry for community pharmacy teams up and down the country. Our own recent medicines supply report found that one in four pharmacy teams are now spending more than two hours each day sourcing alternatives for their patients, showing just how bad this issue has become.

‘The recommendations in this report echo what we have been saying for years and clearly set out what is needed to achieve real change. This is a longstanding issue that must not become the new norm. It is simply unacceptable, and without decisive action, we risk these challenges persisting for many more years to come.

‘We agree that a full reform and robust review of the Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework is fundamental – not only for sustainable funding, but also to ensure we have an operating model that addresses mounting financial pressures and meets rising patient needs. In today's world, our sector must be robust enough and equipped to respond to ever-evolving healthcare needs so that people can access their medicines whenever they need them.'

Henry Gregg, chief executive of the National Pharmacy Association, said: 'Pharmacy teams are under enormous pressure but are forced to spend hours hunting down stuck for distressed and frustrated patients.

'It is particularly frustrating for pharmacists to be unable to meet a clear need when they have a perfectly safe and effective solution in their pharmacy already.

'MPs are right that it is madness to send someone back to their GP to get a prescription changed, and it risks a patient either delaying taking vital medication or forgoing it altogether, which poses a clear risk to patient safety.

'As the APPG says, the government must allow pharmacists - who are highly trained health care practitioners – to use their professional judgment to supply an appropriate alternative medication when the prescribed version is unavailable.'