Patients across the NHS are grappling with the most severe medicine shortages ever recorded, health leaders warn. Pharmacists and GPs have highlighted critical disruptions impacting access to essential drugs, particularly common painkillers, epilepsy medications, and hormone replacement therapy (HRT).
The National Pharmacy Association (NPA) has raised concerns over the serious risks these shortages pose to patient safety. Estradot, an HRT used by menopausal women, and Creon, vital for people with pancreatic cancer and cystic fibrosis to aid digestion, are among the medications most affected. Both drugs have been under serious shortage protocols (SSPs) for extended periods—between 18 months to two years—a new record for the NHS. These SSPs, designed as emergency measures to manage supply deficits, have recently been extended until 10 July.
Patients describe the hardship caused by these shortages. One Creon user recalled a troubling three-month period without access, forcing drastic dietary restrictions to avoid health complications. “You eat much smaller meals, less protein, and less fat,” they explained. The anxiety around running low on medication is immense: “If my supply drops under a month, I start to panic.” Patients often spend hours on calls and travel between pharmacies daily, seeking the medications they need.
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Olivier Picard, chair of the NPA, emphasizes the growing frequency and duration of medicine shortages and their increasingly disruptive impact. “These shortages are some of the most severe the UK has experienced,” he said. “It is deeply distressing to see patients forced to visit multiple pharmacies without success.”
Prof Victoria Tzortziou Brown, president of the Royal College of GPs, acknowledged the frustration experienced by patients and healthcare professionals alike. “When patients must endure continual back and forth to find alternatives, it highlights the urgent need to quickly identify and resolve the root causes of these shortages,” she stated.
A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Social Care reassured the public that the majority of UK-licensed medicines remain readily available. The government is investing heavily in strengthening domestic medicine manufacturing to improve supply resilience and ensure prescriptions can be fulfilled reliably at pharmacies.