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The Government is to launch a consultation on proposals to allow community pharmacists to give patients a different strength or formulation to those stated on their prescription in a bid to improve access to medicines.

The announcement came today (August 11) in a white paper setting out Labour's approach to ensuring a "robust and resilient" medicines supply chain amid persistently high levels of drug shortages.

The Government stated: "We will consult on enabling pharmacists working in a community pharmacy to have the flexibility to supply an alternative strength (and hence also quantity) or formulation against a prescription written by another prescriber, to improve patient access to medicines and improve patient experience.

"As part of this, we will need to give careful consideration to when this might be appropriate, to balance any risks to patient safety and the potential knock-on impact that could unintentionally lead to supply problems with other products."

Departmental officials have previously claimed that giving pharmacists switching powers could make shortages worse. 

The Royal Pharmaceutical Society, which has campaigned for community pharmacists to be given the same switching powers as their hospital counterparts, welcomed the news. 

RPS president Claire Anderson said: "This is a landmark moment for pharmacy and patient care. We've long campaigned for pharmacists to be empowered to use their professional judgment in the face of medicine shortages, and we're delighted to see the Government take this important step."

Pharmacists  are "more than capable of making these decisions safely," said Ms Anderson as she argued the move would reduce delays for patients and allow the NHS to run more efficiently. 

"It's a win for patients, a win for the NHS and a win for common sense," she said. 

In addition to launching the consultation, the Department of Health and Social Care said its efforts to mitigate shortages will also include improving manufacturer compliance with the requirement to hold an eight-week 'buffer stock,' as well as investing more in domestic manufacturing and "broadening the supplier base" for at-risk drug molecules for which there are only a handful of suppliers.

The white paper reveals there have been nearly 10,300 supply disruption notifications since the Discontinuations and Shortages (DaSH) portal launched in October 2020.

Over 800 shortages have been notified so far in 2025, which the Government said is lower than at the same point in 2024 and "closer to 2023 levels". 

Health minister Karin Smyth said the Government will publish relevant information guides for pharmacists, GPs and patients later this summer.