Urgent warning over shortages of life-saving medicines: Damning report reveals patients at risk due to ‘broken’ UK medicine supply chain… So are supplies of YOUR medicines running low?

Sick Brits are facing alarming drug shortages and having to wait longer for new drugs than our European neighbours, a damning report has found.

The government has been urged to carry out a review of the UK’s ‘broken’ medicines supply chain as costs skyrocket and patients suffer.

Experts described shortages of painkillers, antibiotics and epilepsy drugs as a ‘shocking development’ that is also putting pressure on GPs and pharmacists.

The research from think tank Nuffield Trust highlights ‘underlying vulnerabilities’ in the global and UK supply chain following pandemic lockdowns and Brexit.

The analysis of freedom of information requests and public data shows that the number of reports from pharmaceutical companies warning of impending shortages has more than doubled, from 648 in 2020 to 1,634 in 2023.

The Department of Health and Social Care had to provide pharmacists with an extra £220 million over the year to September to subsidize purchases that had run out of medicines, at the usual NHS price.

Before 2016, there were rarely more than 20 so-called ‘price concessions’ per month, but these peaked at 199 at the end of 2022 and have remained high ever since.

Meanwhile, Britain is slower to approve medicines than the EU, analysis shows.

Between 2022 and 2023, only four medicines approved by the European Commission (EC) had accelerated approval in Britain.

However, 56 were approved after the EC and eight had not been approved at all by March this year.

The ‘Future for Health after Brexit’ report states that although the problems in Britain were not caused by Brexit, leaving the European Union (EU) has actually exacerbated them.

This is due to the depreciation of sterling and Britain being removed from EU supply chains.

Lead author Mark Dayan, from the Nuffield Trust, said: ‘We know that many of the problems are global and linked to fragile import chains from Asia, pressured by Covid shutdowns, inflation and global instability.

‘Officials in Britain have set up a much more sophisticated system to monitor and respond, and have used extra payments to try to keep the flow of products going.

‘But leaving the EU has left Britain with a number of additional problems: products no longer flow as smoothly across borders with the EU, and in the long term our struggle to approve so many medicines could mean we have fewer have alternatives available.’

The report identifies other unique issues for the UK market, including a change in demand for the medicines prescribed by doctors.

An example of this was hormone replacement therapy (HRT) prescriptions for postmenopausal women, which increased by 40 percent in 2021/2022.

Mr Dayan added: “The rise in shortages of essential medicines from rare to commonplace has been a shocking development that few would have expected a decade ago.

‘More and more patients in the UK are having to deal with a pharmacist telling them that their medicine is not available, that it may not be available soon, and that it may not be available anywhere nearby. This also creates a lot of extra work for general practitioners and pharmacists.’

Louise Ansari, chief executive of Healthwatch England, warned that ‘shortages of essential medicines could have a damaging impact on people’s conditions and their lives’.

“We call on the government to review the medicines supply chain to ensure the safety and resilience of medicines,” she added.

Dr. Leyla Hannbeck, chief executive of the Association of Independent Multiple Pharmacies, said: ‘The medicine supply chain is broken at every level and unless the Department of Health reviews its processes and procedures we will never achieve the stability that guarantees patients their prescription. when they need it.

‘Pharmacists spend hours every day obtaining medicines for patients.’

Paul Rees, chief executive of the National Pharmacy Association, said drug shortages have “become commonplace” which is “totally unacceptable”.

“Supply shortages pose a real and present danger to patients who depend on life-saving medicines for their well-being,” he added.

‘Ensuring an adequate supply of medicines is certainly a basic function of any modern healthcare system.’

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: ‘There are around 14,000 approved medicines and the vast majority are in good stock.

‘Drug supply issues don’t just affect Britain, and we have a range of established processes and tools to manage them when they arise.

“Therefore, most supply issues have been resolved quickly, with minimal disruption to patients.

“Our priority is to ensure patients continue to receive the treatments they need. That’s why we’re working with industry, the NHS and others to ensure patients continue to have access to an alternative treatment until their usual product is back in stock.”