Sick Britons are facing alarming shortages of medicines and are being forced to wait longer than our European neighbors for new medicines, a damning report reveals.
The Government has been urged to carry out a review of the UK’s “broken” medicines supply chain as costs soar and patients suffer.
Experts described the shortage of painkillers, antibiotics and epilepsy drugs as a “shocking development” that is also putting pressure on GPs and pharmacists.
Research from think tank Nuffield Trust highlights “underlying fragilities” in the UK and global supply chain following pandemic lockdowns and Brexit.
Their analysis of freedom of information requests and public data reveals that the number of notifications 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 in the year to September to subsidize purchases where there were no medicines left at the usual NHS price.
Before 2016, there were rarely more than 20 so-called “price concessions” per month, but they peaked at 199 in late 2022 and have remained high since.
Meanwhile, Britain has been slower to approve drugs than the EU, analysis suggests.
Between 2022 and 2023, only four medicines authorized by the European Commission (EC) were approved faster in Britain.
However, 56 were approved after the EC and eight had not been approved at all until March this year.
The report ‘The future of health after Brexit’ states that while the problems in the UK were not caused by Brexit, leaving the European Union (EU) has exacerbated them.
This is due to the fall in the value of sterling and the removal of the UK from EU supply chains.
Lead author Mark Dayan, of the Nuffield Trust, said: “We know that many of the problems are global and relate to fragile Asian import chains, pressured by Covid lockdowns, inflation and global instability.
‘UK officials have implemented a much more sophisticated system to monitor and respond, and have used additional payments to try to keep goods flowing.
“But leaving the EU has left the UK with several additional problems: products no longer flow as easily across EU borders and, in the long term, our difficulties in approving so many medicines could mean we have fewer alternatives. available”.
The report identifies other unique issues for the UK market, including a shift in demand for medicines prescribed by doctors.
An example used was hormone replacement therapy (HRT) prescriptions for menopausal women, which increased by 40 percent in 2021/22.
Mr Dayan added: “The increasing shortage of vital medicines, from rare to common, has been a shocking development that few would have expected a decade ago.
‘More and more patients across the UK are encountering a pharmacist telling them that their medicine is not available, may not be available soon and may not be available anywhere near them. This is also creating a lot of extra work for both GPs and pharmacists.’
The Government has been urged to carry out a review of the UK’s “broken” medicines supply chain as costs soar and patients suffer pain.
Louise Ansari, chief executive of Healthwatch England, warned that “shortages of vital medicines can have a detrimental impact on people’s condition and their lives.”
“We call on the Government to carry out a review of the medicines supply chain to ensure its safety and resilience,” he added.
Dr Leyla Hannbeck, chief executive of the Association of Independent Multiple Pharmacies, said: “The medicines supply chain is broken at every level and unless the Department of Health reviews its processes and procedures we will never achieve stability. that will guarantee patients their prescription”. when they need it.
“Pharmacists spend hours every day trying to get medications to patients.”
Paul Rees, chief executive of the National Pharmacy Association, said drug shortages “have become commonplace,” which is “totally unacceptable.”
“Supply shortages are a real and present danger for those patients who depend on life-saving medications for their well-being,” he added.
“Ensuring an adequate supply of medicines is undoubtedly a basic function of any modern health system.”
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “There are around 14,000 authorized medicines and the vast majority are in good supply.”
‘Drug supply issues do not just affect the UK, and we have a range of well-established processes and tools to manage them when they occur.
‘That is why most supply problems have been resolved quickly with minimal inconvenience to patients.
“Our priority is to ensure patients continue to receive the treatments they need, so we are working with industry, the NHS and others to ensure patients continue to have access to an alternative treatment until their usual product is available again.”