It’s time to see a relaxation of supply chain controls, says Noel Wicks

Summer is a funny time of the year that’s full of ups and downs. You hope for warm, sunny days, but when they come you bake in the pharmacy and miss most of it because you are stuck inside. Then you have to work harder while others are away on their endless holidays – until at last you finally get some well-deserved time off for yourself on a sunny beach somewhere.

However, if you went to Europe this summer for your break then you should have received a nice surprise when buying your currency. The exchange rate at the moment is great, and I certainly thought that things felt noticeably less expensive on my recent trip to the Canary Islands. The reasons for the slide in the strength of the euro were a hot topic at the hotel bar, particularly from the Irish guests.

While we can now be very thankful that we didn’t opt in to the euro, we are not totally immune to the effects of its fluctuations. Of course, one of the largest issues that I follow is the import and export of pharmaceuticals. As the euro has weakened over recent months, there’s been a growing availability of imported products flowing through the wholesalers and onto our shelves.

The opposing side of the currency seesaw is the market for exporting products out of the UK to other countries. The pound’s strength will undoubtedly mean that some products are less viable for export, and you would assume that demand for exports would reduce. So, if that is the case, then why haven’t we seen a reduction in the widespread controls on product rationing that have been imposed on us for so long?

Admittedly, perhaps it’s a bit too soon to expect the pharmaceutical companies to be dismantling their control mechanisms. Yet, I imagine this is a fairly expensive arrangement, with a significant number of people in some companies whose main function is to deal with quotas, look at faxed prescriptions, and so on. However, is it just a matter of time before we start to see these sorts of practices being wound up?

Well, I guess that depends first on whether the euro stays where it is long-term, and second, how much the companies like the control they have now established. I suggest that a different way of looking at the question should be: how long are UK pharmacists and pharmacies prepared to accept these controls if a rationale for them no longer exists? I do think that this is a question that we need to ask ourselves, because if we don’t then certainly no one else will.

Although many of us have become acclimatised to supply chain difficulties, we shouldn’t ever stop seeking to resolve them. And while we wait for this nirvana to appear, I will console myself with the fact that – if I do ever manage to get any time away again this busy summer – my pound now goes just that little bit further…

Noel Wicks is an independent pharmacist.