Brexit 'severely' disrupting supply of medicines to UK

Vital antibiotics, hormone replacement therapy and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder drugs are among those in desperately short supply this winter PA/iStock)

- ADAM FORREST REBECCA THOMAS

Medicine shortages in the UK are “as bad as they have ever been”, say health experts, as a new report warns that Brexit is a major factor in “severe” supply delays.

Vital antibiotics, hormone replacement therapy and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder drugs are among those in desperately short supply this winter – with the NHS forced to pay over the odds to get drugs into Britain.

Leading British health experts backing a new report on postBrexit problems in the health service, which has been shared with The Independent, have also highlighted recent problems obtaining antidepressants and medication for high blood pressure.

Professor Martin McKee, of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said the health of patients who rely on these day-to-day medications is being put at risk because of “very worrying” recurring shortages. The NHS is unable to stockpile many of the scarcer drugs because they go out of date, and experts say post-Brexit red tape is making it harder to get lifesaving drugs into the UK when they are needed.

Community Pharmacy England, which represents NHS pharmacists, said medicine shortages are “as bad as they have ever been”, explaining that the war in Ukraine and manufacturing problems overseas are to blame as well as Brexit.

Britain has experienced a major spike in drug shortages in recent years. According to the British Generic Manufacturers Association (BGMA), which represents drug manufacturers, the number of “high-impact” medicines with supply problems hit a two-year high of 10 in September. The BGMA said that in September, 102 medicine products were listed as being in shortage – double that of the previous high in February 2022.