Why is there a medicine shortage in the UK? Pharmacists urge political parties to prioritise issue

The number of serious shortage protocols (SSPs) issued to pharmacies has risen significantly in the last two years, analysis by the National Pharmacy Association has found.

Using data by the NHS Business Services Authority, which sheds light on the increasing problem of medicines shortages, the NPA revealed 34 and 11 SSPs were issued in 2022 and 2023 respectively while five have so far been issued this year, taking the total of SSPs to 50 between 2022 and 2024. 

14 SSPs were issued between 2019 and 2021. Four SSPs were issued over three days in May 2024, the same number for the whole of 2020.

Some SSPs can stay in place for months. In one case, an SSP for Fluoxetine 10mg tablets lasted more than three years.

As a result, the National Pharmacy Association has urged political parties to make solving medicine shortages a key part of their general election manifestos.

The NPA said shortages were caused by a variety of factors, including changes in global demand, price and exchange rate fluctuations, manufacturing problems and the UK supply chain structure which it said was “grossly underfunded” compared with other Western nations.

NPA chief executive Paul Rees said: “The current funding crisis, which has seen support for pharmacies fall by 40 per cent over the last decade in real terms, is a key issue in driving these appalling shortages. The national warnings are only issued when shortages are at their most acute, with this revealing just the tip of the iceberg, in terms of the challenges facing pharmacies and their patients.

“Pharmacists will always help patients get alternative medication, when possible, but they face continual struggles obtaining supply across an ever-changing range of conditions, from diabetes to ADHD and epilepsy.”

Analysis has drawn attention to the effects of wider geopolitical factors, including the conflict in Ukraine, the Covid-19 pandemic and Brexit as the reason for medicine shortages.

According to the NPA, shortages were caused by a variety of factors, including changes in global demand, price and exchange rate fluctuations, manufacturing problems.

It added that the UK supply chain structure is a factor, and said it was “grossly underfunded” compared with other Western nations.

The data revealed SSPs have been issued for medicines used to treat all kinds of conditions such as:

Current SSPs in place are: