Getty imagesPharmacists have warned that “one of the worst” examples of drug shortages affects cancer patients.
Creon, pancreatic enzymatic replacement therapy (PERT), aid for digestion and is necessary by patients with pancreatic cancer, cystic fibrosis and chronic pancreatitis. More than 61,000 patients in the United Kingdom are believed to need the drug.
Some patients would be “jumping meals” to ration their medication due to a shortage of the latter, according to the National Pharmacy Association (NPA).
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Health and Social Care said that there were “European-scale supply problems” and that he “worked closely with industry and NHS” to mitigate the impact on patients.
Without the drug, patients lose weight and strength, which means that their ability to deal with treatment such as chemotherapy is reduced.
Some experts have predicted the shortages that continue until next year.
The Ministry of Health and Social Coins has extended a serious shortage protocol for Creon which has already been in place for a year.
This indicates a concern about drug shortages and allows pharmacists to give patients an alternative – although they argue that other drugs are also rare.
A spokesperson for the Department said that “European-scale supply problems” had been caused by manufacturing supply constraints.
'Additional stress' layer'
The National Pharmacy Association said that more than three -quarters of the members covered in a recent survey estimated that current shortages management provisions were inadequate.
Some have indicated that patients jumped meals and traveled long distances to get the medication, according to the NPA.
One said it was the “worst shortage of stocks” with which they had never had to face.
BBC News underlined the problem in February After a woman came into contact saying that he was impossible for her husband, who has pancreatic cancer, to digest her food without creon.
This month, the main clinicians and pancreatic charitable organizations have written to the Prime Minister, saying that the absence of PERT can have a “devastating impact on people's lives”.
They called for a national strategy to fight against the shortage.
Alice de Birmingham received a diagnosis of pancreatic cancer in 2023 and initially obtained 15 Creon capsules each month to help it tolerate chemotherapy.
She can now only obtain six or seven and must jump out of snacks.
The 64 -year -old said that the shortage had deeply affected his mental health.
She told the BBC: “Every day, I try to balance: what should I eat, should I have a more substantial meal, should I take my supplements and this creates an additional layer of stress and concern while I try to go up my life together after having this diagnosis.”
'Take desperate measures'
Alfie Bailey-Bearfield of Pancreatic Cancer UK said that the charity had raised concerns to the government and suppliers for more than a year and that it was essential that those responsible have intervened to try to stimulate supply.
“Thousands of people affected by pancreatic cancer are counting on taking tablets each time they eat simply to digest their food and absorb nutrients-something that most of us are trying for granted,” he said.
“It is completely unacceptable that they always take desperate measures which put their health, their well-being and their admissibility to treatment in danger,” he added.
Dr. Leyla Hannbeck, Managing Director of Independent Pharmacies Association, said that it was very difficult for its members to obtain wholesale supplies.
“Creon shortages have been underway for so long and it seems that no effective attempt is made by managers to facilitate the process for pharmacies and patients and to set up robust plans to prioritize the availability of this product,” she said.
“Instead, they continue to extend the current processes.”
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Health and Social Care said that he knew “how painful and painful medicine supply problems” could be for patients and clinicians who took care of them.
They added: “The European -scale supply problems with Creon are caused by a limited availability of raw ingredients and manufacturing capacity constraints.
“We are working in close collaboration with industry and NHS to mitigate the impact on patients and solve problems as quickly as possible.”
