The NHS has been hit by shortages of products relating to the treatment of cancer, cardiac, and infectious diseases after Swiss pharmaceutical firm Roche faced dispatch delays on goods from its new NDC.
In response to national media reports of shortages, Roche told Logistics Manager that it went live with the distribution of goods from its newly opened National Distribution Centre.
A spokesperson said that “During the transition from the existing warehouse to the new facility, we experienced a number of unforeseen issues which are delaying the dispatch of some products.”
The spokesperson added that Roche “deeply regrets that there has been a delay in the dispatch of some products” and apologised to any of its customers that had been impacted.”
Geoff Twist, general manager of Roche Diagnostics UK & Ireland, told Logistics Manager that the supply of Roche medicines is continuing as normal.
“The current issue with the despatch of products in the UK has not and will not affect our commitment to supply Covid-19 tests.
“We are confident that the plans we have put in place will deliver significant improvements by the weekend to the supply of the tests affected by these logistical issues. We will be well on the way to resolution by the end of next week.
“In the meantime, we are working closely with the NHS in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, and the HSE in Ireland, to minimise the impact on critical services which rely on our products – including cancer, cardiac and infectious diseases.”
An NHS spokesperson said: “Roche has alerted hospitals to an issue with their supply chain, and they will be working urgently to resolve this issue.”
