The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 272 No 7293 p407
3 April 2004

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Moves to cut drugs bill would endanger patients

Attempts by the Government to cut the NHS drugs bill would endanger patients, according to Steve Dunn, chairman of the British Association of Pharmaceutical Wholesalers and group managing director of AAH Pharmaceuticals. “Any measure to reduce the drugs bill will lead to patient safety being compromised through unavailability of product,” he said.

Mr Dunn was speaking at the BAPW annual dinner held in London last week. He told guests, including Jim Smith, chief pharmaceutical officer for England, that profits from generic medicines subsidised other services delivered by wholesalers. “If profitability is reduced, some services will become economically unviable.”

He added that wholesalers were able to contribute to the development of pharmacy policy at a national level. “Apart from generics, pharmacy will have to deal this year with the Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme changes, the new contract implementation, patient packs, payment for services and the response to the Office of Fair Trading report, not to mention the growing importance of primary care trusts. Full-line wholesalers are the link between a strong pharmaceutical manufacturing industry and a strong pharmacy health care sector,” he said.