Pharmacy leaders say a report criticising the way medicines are prescribed in Scotland is riddled with “misunderstandings and inaccuracies” and risks damaging public and patient confidence.

The NHS Scotland Directors of Pharmacy group says it is “disappointed” with the findings outlined by Holyrood’s health and sport committee following its inquiry into the supply and demand for medicines.

In particular, the group says assertions of a lack of leadership and a lack of focus on solutions are “wholly unjustified”.

The report has also been described as “deeply unfair and inappropriate” by GPs.

In a letter to the committee, NHS Scotland Directors of Pharmacy chair Christine Gilmour said: “We have grave concerns that these declarations have a very real potential to damage both public and patient confidence in the care they currently receive.

“Unfortunately, the key areas for improvement that the report identifies are lost in the apparent misunderstandings, inconsistencies and inaccuracies that permeate through the report.”

The criticisms in the report included a failure to improve and modernise the current system and to introduce a comprehensive IT system to use patient data to improve services.

But Ms Gilmour, who is Director of Pharmacy at NHS Lanarkshire, pointed to examples such as the establishment of a model for hospital electronic prescribing and medicines administration.

“This has been achieved against a backdrop of significant financial challenge in health boards, requiring strong leadership to secure the support and additional funding essential to deliver this step change for patient safety in Scotland.”

She said that as leaders of the pharmacy profession, it is the “raison d’être” of the NHS Scotland Directors of Pharmacy to put patients, their families and carers at the centre of its work “at all times”.

“This has been well demonstrated by our work to ensure the needs of patients have been met during the SAR-Cov-2 pandemic,” the letter stated.

“You may be aware of the global challenges in relation to the medicine supply chain which was put under further and unprecedented strain during the peak phase of SAR-Cov-2 virus.

“The challenge of securing extreme quantities of oxygen, renal replacement fluids, critical care medicines, palliative care and end of life medicines tested our systems as never before but was successfully met thanks to the work of pharmacists and their teams.

“NHS Scotland did not run out of any medicines.”

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