Patients have needed surgery following failures by NHS-contracted firms, charity says
By Wedaeli Chibelushi, Multimedia Producer
People with long-term bowel diseases have had to undergo surgery as a result of failures by private companies contracted by the NHS to deliver medicines, a charity has said.
Crohn's and Colitis UK said it heard from 35 people claiming that issues on the part of homecare medicines services, such as delays in delivering vital medications, led to their condition worsening to the point that they required surgery.
Homecare medicines services serve those with long-term conditions - like cancer, HIV, and haemophilia - which often require drugs that can't be collected from high street or hospital pharmacies.
There are 12 providers in England - and they are paid over one billion pounds of public money a year to deliver medications and related care to around 500,000 people.
ITV News previously revealed that patients from Sciensus, one of the biggest homecare medicines services, said they have been rushed to hospital and left bedridden because of weeks-long delays.
And last week, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency launched an urgent investigation into Sciensus after an "incident" at the company's manufacturing unit allegedly led to a cancer patient dying and three patients being admitted to hospital.
Ruth Wakeman, Director of Services, Advocacy and Evidence at Crohn’s & Colitis UK told ITV News on Tuesday: "If people with Crohn’s or Colitis do not receive their medicines on time they can experience serious complications, which may require emergency medical treatment or even surgery.
"Lifelong health conditions are stressful enough without having to worry about missed deliveries and chasing customer services.”
Ms Wakeman was among those who gave evidence to an ongoing parliamentary inquiry into homecare medicines services.
The House of Lords Public Services Committee launched the inquiry amid "reports of missed deliveries, delays and potentially significant health impacts".
On June 14, in the first inquiry hearing, Ms Wakeman, Sarah Campbell from the British Society for Rheumatology and NHS consultant Dr Christian Selinger said "systemic" issues within the sector have lead to significant amounts of patient suffering and wasted NHS resources.
In a following hearing, Alison Davis, chair of industry body the National Clinical Homecare Association, recognised some providers had "encountered issues to a lesser or greater extent over the time period".
Ms Davis also raised challenges homecare medicines services have been facing, such as a rapid increase in patient numbers during the pandemic, the wider health sector's struggle to recruit and retain staff and a "significant" number of medicines being withdrawn from the market.
However, Ms Davis told peers that last year providers carried out 98.8% of medicine deliveries on the day they were intended, while Joe Bassett, chair of the National Homecare Medicines Committee said there is not a "fundamental issue with homecare services as they are provided at the moment".
Also, regulators defended not launching an "overarching" inquiry into the sector, with Claire Bryce-Smith from the General Pharmaceutical Council saying it is performing "quite well overall".
During the hearings, NHS executives revealed that they are currently carrying out a separate review of homecare medicines services "based on concerns that have been raised about homecare services in NHS England to understand the range of arrangements that are in place and the accountabilities that go with that".
Accountability was a key theme of the hearings. Ms Davis said: "Speciality pharmacy services provided by homecare providers do not factor anywhere in government policy or strategy... there is no named individual team or department accountable and responsible for those essential services to 550,000 patients.
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"Some £4.1 billion of Treasury money is spent on these services per annum, yet nobody has oversight for it."
Most of the witnesses complained that patients' prescriptions, issued by the NHS, are sent to homecare medicines services via post and digitally.
Ms Davis told the committee the paper-based system is an "administrative burden". David Webb, England's Chief Pharmaceutical Officer added: "The electronic transmission of prescriptions between different hospitals to different homecare providers would be a significant step forward."
The committee is due to hold more hearings in September.
The House of Lords inquiry focuses on services provided in England and Wales - a review into Scotland's sector is expected to take place later this year.
In a letter seen by ITV News, Scottish Public Health Minister Jenni Minto told a concerned MSP that work on the inquiry will likely commence in the summer, adding "it is indeed worrying that companies providing NHS services have failed to deliver their agreed contracted services to patients".
Dr Alison Cave, MHRA Chief Safety Officer, said in a statement addressing the death of a cancer patient after the incident at Sciensus' manufacturing university: “We were saddened to hear of the death of a patient and offer our deepest sympathies to the family.
“Patient safety is our highest priority. We are urgently investigating this issue and we will take any necessary regulatory measures to ensure patients are protected.
“We ask healthcare providers to report any suspected side effects or medication errors to the Yellow Card scheme website and their local risk management system.”
A Sciensus spokesperson said: “Sciensus can confirm that an isolated incident at our medicine manufacturing unit in April has affected four patients.
"We are deeply saddened that one of the patients has since died and wish to offer our sincere condolences to the patient’s family and friends.
"As soon as the incident was discovered, we immediately contacted the regulators, the patients and their doctors. We are currently conducting a thorough investigation into the incident and are working with the regulators.”