The NHS is only days away from running out of some medical supplies because of the Iran war, the head of the health service in England has warned
Sir Jim Mackey said ‘we are really worried’ about potential shortfalls in the number of critical supplies like syringes, masks and surgical equipment.
Deliveries have been affected by Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz, with shipments either being held up completely or having to be diverted around the world.
Asked about what contingency planning is in place in the NHS because ‘the UK imports 75% of its medicine’, Sir Jim said: ‘We are really worried about this.
‘We’ve already had a couple of supply shocks in the last 12 to 18 months of key supplies.’
He said there is a team in place to ‘focus on where the risks might be through the supply chains’.
Asked on the LBC phone-in how much supply there is, he replied: ‘It depends what you’re talking about.
‘In every area, we’ve got enough to get through for a reasonable period… so generally, a few weeks
‘Because things perish and it costs money to store and various other things go out of out of use, you can’t hold years and years of supply, generally dependent on the product we keep a reasonable period.
‘Some of that is held centrally, some held locally.’
Asked what was at risk, Sir Jim said: ‘Well, everything, honestly – everything’s at risk.’
Asked whether in some instances it would be ‘weeks’ worth of supply’, he replied: ‘Yeah, it could be days for some products.’
On Monday, the Independent Pharmacies Association said the UK was facing a ‘perfect storm of factors exacerbating medicine shortages’.
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