Brexit blamed for UK's worst drug shortages in four years

Drug shortages in the UK are at their worst level for four years, figures show, with Brexit seen as a key reason so many medications are scarce.

- Denis Campbell

Drug companies notified the Department of Health and Social Care about disruptions to supply 1,938 times last year - the highest number since the 1,967 recorded in 2021.

Medications to treat epilepsy and cystic fibrosis are among those that pharmacists are finding it hard or impossible to get hold of, potentially creating risks for patients' health.

The figures were published in a report by the Nuffield Trust health thinktank, which obtained them under freedom of information laws from the DHSC, which oversees the availability of drugs UK-wide.

The number of supply disruptions fell after 2021, to 1,608 in 2022 and 1,634 in 2023. But they suddenly shot up again last year to 1,938.

Mark Dayan, a policy analyst at the Nuffield Trust and its Brexit programme lead, said: "This wave of medicine shortages has already meant people struggle to find the drugs their doctors told them were needed for conditions like epilepsy and cystic fibrosis. It's very worrying that it appears to be rolling on at full force into a third year."