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<p>The majority of medicines are dispensed in England every day without issue, with
over two million prescription items dispensed each day. However, the production of
medicines is complex and highly regulated, and materials and processes must meet rigorous
safety and quality standards. Supply problems can affect a wide range of drugs and
can arise for various reasons, such as manufacturing issues, problems with the raw
ingredients and batch failures.</p><p>The Department has well established processes
to manage and mitigate supply problems that may arise at any one time and works closely
with the Medicines and Healthcare Regulatory Authority (MHRA), the pharmaceutical
industry, NHS England and NHS Improvement and others operating in the supply chain,
to help prevent shortages and to ensure that the risks to patients are minimised when
they do arise.</p><p>Where issues do arise, the Department will use a host of tools
which might include working with the MHRA to expedite regulatory procedures, working
with manufacturers to manage remaining supplies and expedite the delivery of further
stock and commissioning clinical advice on alternative options from specialist clinicians.</p><p>Furthermore,
the team routinely works with specialist importer companies to obtain unlicensed products
from abroad to help to manage supply issues affecting the National Health Service.</p><p>Occasionally
the team will work with wholesalers and suppliers to put demand management processes
in place to ensure the equitable distribution of stock throughout the country as this
ensures the NHS can continue to access the medicines it requires.</p>
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