The National Pharmacy Association is warning that medicine shortages pose a “serious risk to patient safety” and are “some of the most severe the UK has ever experienced”.
The warnings come as new data shows that the UK now has the longest running shortages for an individual medicine in history.
Serious shortage protocols (SSPs) in place for HRT treatments and Creon have reached new NHS records.
SSPs have been in place for Creon since May 2024 and was extended by the NHS in April until 10 July 2026, running for over two years, a new record. Creon is a drug to help people with pancreatic cancer and cystic fibrosis digest food.
Estradot, a common HRT drug, has had an SSP in place since December 2024, a year and a half ago, another record, also extended by the NHS in April to run until 10 July.
The National Pharmacy Association, which represents around 6,000 independent community pharmacies in the UK, is calling on the government to convene an urgent taskforce to tackle the issue.
A new survey by the association has found that 89 % of pharmacies were unable to dispense a medicine at least once a day last year due to supply issues, with one pharmacist saying they were “experiencing the most amount of shortages I have known for the past 30 years”.