‘Most severe’ medicine shortages ever pose serious patient safety risk, health leaders warn

The UK is facing some of the ‘most severe’ medicine shortages on record which pose a serious risk to patient safety, pharmacy and GP leaders have warned.

The National Pharmacy Association (NPA) and Royal College of GPs have issued stark warnings about the impact of drug shortages on patients, GPs and pharmacists.

Pharmacists and GPs have been faced with record numbers of shortages in recent months for commonly dispensed medicines, including for painkillers, blood pressure medication and medicines to manage epilepsy, the NPA said.

These shortages can result in pharmacists spending significant time sourcing scarce medication or GPs having to alter prescriptions to fit in with supply issues.

Meanwhile, a new survey by the NPA found that almost all pharmacies (98%) in the last year had encountered patients who had visited several pharmacies in a day to find a prescription.

The poll also found nearly nine-in-10 pharmacies (89%) were unable to dispense a medicine at least once a day last year due to supply issues, with 96% feeling the current situation posed a serious risk to the safety of their patients.

And 83% reported facing abuse or anger from patients due to a prescribed medicine being unavailable.

NPA chair Olivier Picard said: ‘This data confirms what pharmacists and GPs have been experiencing for many months; medicine shortages are becoming more frequent, lasting longer and causing increasing disruption for patients.

‘These shortages are some of most severe the UK has experienced. Our medicines market has never been so volatile, with patients and primary care colleagues at the sharp end of events outside of their control.

‘It is deeply distressing to find patients who have travelled from pharmacy to pharmacy to find the medicines they need without success.

‘Although medicine shortages are frustrating and worrying, we are clear that in some instances they pose a serious risk to patient safety.’

The warning comes as the NPA said that new data shows that the UK now has the longest running shortages in history for two individual medicines.

Serious shortage protocols (SSPs) have been in place for the pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy (PERT) medication Creon since May 2024 and were recently extended until 10 July 2026 – running for more than two years.

And Estradot, a common hormone replacement therapy (HRT) drug, has had an SSP in place since December 2024 which was also recently extended to 10 July, more than a year-and-a-half later.

The NPA is urging the government to convene an emergency taskforce including manufacturers, wholesalers and clinicians to try and tackle the ‘complex and growing’ problem.

It has also called for amendments to ‘antiquated’ legislation that prevents pharmacies from making substitutions to a prescription when an item is out of stock. This results in patients being sent back to their GP to make changes, delaying medicines reaching a patient and wasting significant amounts of time, the association said.

President of the Royal College of GPs, Professor Victoria Tzortziou Brown, said: ‘Medicine shortages can be frustrating for patients, GPs and pharmacists alike, especially when patients have to endure lots of back and forth to acquire a suitable alternative.

‘With appropriate safeguards in place, the college is supportive of pharmacists being able to make limited changes to prescriptions when a medicine is unavailable and a safe, clinically appropriate alternative is available within agreed prescribing guidance.

‘We would also support systems that enable timely communication between pharmacists and GP practices when shortages arise, without creating unnecessary administrative burden.’

The two organisation’s warning comes ahead of the inaugural Community Pharmacy & General Practice Conference that will support GPs and pharmacies to help patients navigate a growing list of medicine shortages.

The event, organised by the National Pharmacy Association and The Pharmacist’s publisher Cogora, will run from 21-22 June at the National Conference Centre in Birmingham.

Mr Picard said: ‘We hope this conference is a chance to bring together pharmacies and GPs to share ways we can work together to support our patients through a growing number of shortages.

‘Improving dialogue and information sharing ahead of time between GP surgeries and pharmacies can help mitigate some of the impact of disruption to supply chains.’

Secure your place at the Community Pharmacy & General Practice Conference today.