Warning that NHS drug shortages are putting lives at risk as pharmacists say crisis is ‘worse than ever’

Britain’s medicine shortage crisis has worsened and is putting lives at risk, pharmacists have warned.

Data shows that an unprecedented number of 106 commonly used medicines are currently out of stock in Britain, double the number of shortages recorded in January 2022.

Over the past two years, supply problems have affected crucial antibiotics and hormone replacement therapy (HRT), as well as drugs for type 2 diabetes and cancer.

Now a treatment for controlling seizures has been added to the list.

Experts warned that supply problems are “worse than ever”, forcing some to switch to other brands and in extreme cases leaving cancer patients without the medicines needed to control the spread of their disease.

According to the British Generic Manufacturers Association (BGMA) – the trade body representing drug manufacturers and suppliers – supply problems affected 96 products as of December 18.

Although this is down from the 111 recorded at the end of October, 10 medicines have since been added to the list and did not experience any supply problems in the autumn.

And the total is double the 52 medicines with supply problems registered in January 2022.

Delyth Morgan, the CEO of Breast Cancer Now, warned that patients were being forced to go without medication, increasing their risk of the cancer returning or spreading.

She said The guard: ‘Last year, many people shared with us, via the Breast Cancer Now helpline, that they had experienced difficulties accessing their hormone treatment, including letrozole, anastrozole and tamoxifen, which caused them great worry and anxiety.

‘Trying to track down a treatment by traveling to a number of different pharmacies is an added burden for patients at an already difficult time.

‘It may also happen that certain brands of medicine are no longer in stock and that people have to switch to another brand or medicine.

“In the worst case scenario, a person could go a period of time without medication, a medication that can help reduce the risk of breast cancer coming back or spreading.”

Meanwhile, Douglas Twenefour, head of care at Diabetes UK, told the newspaper: ‘The ongoing shortages of many GLP-1 medicines are having serious consequences for many people with type 2 diabetes and are still a major problem.

‘As these shortages are likely to last for at least the rest of this year, this will have a significant impact on whether many people with type 2 diabetes can access the best treatment for them.’

EU health chiefs have blamed supply chain shortages to the war in Ukraine and the Covid pandemic.

Chaos in the Red Sea, forever a crucial shipping corridor, could cause new instability in the drug supply, experts warn.

Selling medicines to the NHS is also becoming increasingly unprofitable as manufacturers see costs rise due to rising raw material prices.

But there are caps on how much the NHS will pay for medicines, making international companies less willing to sell to Britain.

Late last year the government increased business taxes on the sale of branded medicines from 14 percent to almost 26.5 percent, meaning some companies are at risk of withdrawing from the UK market entirely, according to reports.

Janet Morrison, the chief executive of Community Pharmacy England, told the Guardian that supply problems have persisted for months but are now ‘worse than ever’.

She said shortages have become ‘worryingly common’, with pharmacy teams spending an average of 11 extra hours a week tracking down essential medicines their patients need.

She added: ‘All this is causing worrying delays for patients, and in the worst case scenario it could lead to a deterioration in their health.’

A 2023 survey by Community Pharmacy England found that 92 percent of pharmacy teams were experiencing medicine supply issues on a daily basis, up from 67 percent the year before.

Nearly nine in ten (87 percent) team members believed that the patient’s health was at risk.

But reports show drug shortages have been increasing for more than two decades.

Older drugs are often subject to shortages because prices drop once a lab’s original patent expires and other companies can make generics.

Pharmaceutical companies also do not maintain inventories of these older drugs, which are much less profitable than newer therapies. For example, a minor disruption during production can lead to a shortage.

However, the problem is not just a problem for Britain.

In October, one of France’s pharmacy unions, the USPO, also called for greater transparency, adding that drug shortages were becoming a permanent problem.

EU Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides also told MEPs in October that tackling medicine shortages was a top political priority in Europe, adding that a new alert system and shortage prevention plans were in place as these are issues that have consequences for several countries.

A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Social Care said: ‘There are a number of reasons why a limited number of medications may not be available, such as production issues, raw material supply, sudden spikes in demand, or distribution issues.

‘The department has established procedures in place to deal with such issues and works closely with industry, the NHS and others to prevent shortages and resolve any issues as they arise.’

They added: ‘This includes working closely with the NHS so they can put in place proposed plans to limit the risk of the shortage impacting patients.’