Persistent and widespread medicine shortages putting patients at risk

Patients are facing serious harm due to persistent and widespread medicine shortages, MPs and peers have warned in a new report.

The All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on pharmacy called for urgent action to prevent critical shortfalls from becoming the "new normal", highlighting the impact that shortages are having on patients with ADHD, menopause and diabetes.

Steve Race, chairman of the APPG on pharmacy, said many MPs “have received a growing volume of correspondence from constituents who are understandably anxious about the availability of their medicines”.

“Whether it is a parent unable to access antibiotics for a sick child, an elderly patient facing delays in obtaining life-sustaining medication, or a pharmacist overwhelmed by the need to source alternatives, the human impact is both visible and deeply troubling,” he wrote in the report.

The report said that while medicine shortages are “not a new phenomenon”, they have “become increasingly severe, persistent, and disruptive” in recent years – leading to consequences for patients, staff and the wider health service.

“Medicines shortages have moved from isolated incidents to a chronic structural challenge for both the NHS and pharmacy sector,” he said.

“As the government continues to recognise and invest in the expanded clinical role of community pharmacy, we must ensure the medicines supply chain underpinning that care is equally robust, resilient and patient-focused.

“Pharmacy is central to NHS recovery and transformation, but frontline teams cannot safely expand clinical services while daily supply disruptions continue to impact the health of patients.”

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Source: The Independent, 8 July2025

Related reading on the hub:

• Medicines shortages: minimising the impact on patients (a blog by Catherine Picton)
• Medication supply issues: A pharmacist’s perspective
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