COVID-19: Supplementary information on medicines supply

Please note: As of 19 July 2022 the information provided below is no longer being monitored or maintained.

ACMD advice on COVID-19 emergency legislation to enable supply of controlled drugs (Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs)
The Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) wrote to the Home Secretary in response to the 1 April letter commissioning the ACMD to urgently review three emergency measures that would enable the supply of medicines containing controlled substances during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The proposed measures aim to ensure patients continue to have access to medicines, build resilience and help relieve pressure elsewhere in the health system caused by COVID-19.

These measures have been considered by the ACMD and recommendations on their implementation have been provided.

Following these changes the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) provided its own update on new legislation relating to controlled drugs during the COVID-19 pandemic (29 April 2020). They highlight these new measures will not come into use now but may potentially be introduced at some point in a particular area if there were severe disruptions to the supply of repeat prescriptions of controlled drugs for patients.

Medicines that you cannot export from the UK or hoard (MHRA)

Novel coronavirus COVID-19 standard operating procedure – Running an END OF LIFE medicines reuse scheme in a care home or hospice setting (NHS Wales)
In light of the current unprecedented impact of COVID-19, the UK Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has relaxed its previous position to accommodate the reuse of medicines under limited specific circumstances as outlined in this guidance.

This standard operating procedure (SOP) supports timely access to essential end of life (EoL) medicines during the COVID-19 pandemic for patients who are being cared for in a care home or hospice setting, by offering a framework to run a safe and effective medicines reuse scheme that is in the best interest of patients.