It’s not just HRT, Prozac and the Pill: Pharmacy staff warn they are suffering shortages in ALL 36 major medicine categories
- Antidepressants, blood pressure pills and antiepileptic drugs are in short supply
- It comes amid a nationwide shortage of HRT, the Pill and antidepressants Prozac
- Pharmacists revealed shortfalls in a survey and said they were on a ‘knife edge’
- Health chiefs have repeatedly warned a No Deal Brexit will worsen the situation
Pharmacists in the UK have warned of shortages of every major type of medicine – including antidepressants and blood pressure pills.
Drugs for epileptics and diabetics as well as heartburn pills are also in low supply, according to a shocking poll of more than 400 pharmacists in the UK.
Staff have told how they are on a ‘knife edge’ trying to cope amid fears from angry patients that they may not able to get their drugs.
It comes amid a nationwide HRT shortage that has seen British women buy the pills abroad, over claims the supply issues could last until mid-2020.
Several contraceptive pills have also become difficult to get hold of, while doctors have been told to hold off from issuing repeat prescriptions for the antidepressant Prozac.
Health chiefs have also repeatedly warned the situation may only worsen if Britain crashes out of the EU without a deal on October 31.
Pharmacists have warned they are suffering shortages in every major medicine category – including antidepressants and blood pressure pills
A shortfall was reported across all 36 categories of medicines included in the survey by Chemist and Druggist. No specific drugs or brand names were mentioned.
A total of 402 community pharmacy professionals reported what medicines they had struggled to get in the last six months.
HRT drugs were most commonly in short supply, with 84 per cent of respondents having difficulty sourcing the products.
Some 67 per cent of pharmacy staff said they have struggled to get contraceptives, and 58 per cent experienced supply issues of antiepileptic drugs.
More than half reported a shortage of creams for inflammed skin or blood circulation problems, such as rubefacients, topical NSAIDs, or capsaicin.
More than 20 per cent reported drugs for diabetes were in short supply.
Antipsychotic drugs – for the treatment of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder – and pain relief pills, which may include codeine, also were low in supply.
If pharmacists cannot find a drug to fill out a prescription, they have to send patients back to their GPs to get an alternative.
HRT CRISIS FORCING WOMEN TO SEEK TREATMENT ABROAD
Women have been forced into buying HRT medication from abroad as it is now almost impossible to get in Britain.
Shortages have been going on for months but reached ‘crisis point’ this week as most Evorel patches – the UK market leader – disappeared from the shelves.
Many alternatives were already out of stock and the two main pharmaceutical wholesalers have completely run out of all commonly-prescribed HRT patches, according to an audit seen by the Daily Mail.
Manufacturers are rationing what little stock they have with the support of the Department of Health, which has been slammed for its ‘disastrous’ handling of the crisis.
Some women have been buying boxes for their friends from pharmacies while on holiday in Spain. One patient has even been air-freighting HRT from South Africa.
Around two-thirds of HRT treatments have been hit by shortages. They include Evorel and Elleste, the two most popular brands, which are prescribed to upwards of 100,000 women a year – more than half of those on the treatment.
More than half of women on HRT are prescribed patches, which are applied once or twice a week below the waist.
GPs, who are under increasing work pressure, may be unaware of the shortages and continue to prescribe pills which aren’t available.
The survey comes amid a ‘crisis point’ in HRT supply, in which two-thirds of HRT treatments have been hit by shortages.
They include Evorel and Elleste, the two most popular brands, which are prescribed to upwards of 100,000 women a year.
Some women have been forced into buying HRT medication from abroad to treat their menopause symptoms as it is now almost impossible to get in Britain.
An inadequate supply of birth control pills has also become apparent in recent months, which doctors said was ‘very concerning’.
The British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS) said if women are not able to get hold of their contraceptive pill, it could trigger a rise in pregnancies.
Last week, doctors were told to monitor their prescriptions of fluoxetine – commonly known by its brand name Prozac – because manufacturing problems have cut supplies.
The Department of Health wrote to all GPs last week telling them to contact their patients who take the drug to ask how many supplies they have at home.
The letter stated that any patient with enough pills to last until November should not be issued with a repeat prescription, the magazine Pulse reported.
It is not clear why drugs are becoming scarce, but with Brexit just 30 days away, it is feared that a No Deal may exacerbate the problem.
The Government has recommended that suppliers of medicines build up at least six weeks’ extra stocks above their usual buffer stock levels in preparation for Brexit.
But a damning report last week claimed the Department of Health and Social Care’s (DHSC) has ‘incomplete information’ about the levels of stockpiling.
The National Audit Office reviewed data from DHSC and said: ‘The department has done a great deal of work to prepare for a No Deal exit.
‘However, there remains a significant amount to do before October 31.
‘In the event of a No Deal exit, the department would be working in a highly uncertain environment and operating all the elements of its plan would be a hugely demanding task.’
Of the 12,300 drugs used in the UK, the DHSC estimates that around 7,000 come from, or via, the EU – with the vast majority being shipped across the Channel.
The Government’s own ‘reasonable worst case’ assumption is that the flow of goods across the Channel could be reduced to 40-60 per cent on day one.
The Guild of Healthcare Pharmacists (GHP) said that leaving the EU without a deal would bring a ‘significant risk’ of disruption to the supply of medicines and medical devices.
The pharmaceutical body said it was ‘probably correct’ that existing medicines shortages would worsen in the event of a No Deal, The Pharmaceutical Journal reported.
WHAT MEDICINES ARE PHARMACISTS SHORT OF?
All 402 pharmacists selected the drugs they have struggled to source in the past six months:
- Diurecits – 64
- Anti-arrhythmic drugs – 64
- Beta-adrenoceptor blocking drugs – 55
- Antihypertensive drugs – 121
- Anticoagulants – 70
- Antipsychotic drugs – 81
- Corticosteroids – 45
- Laxatives – 32
- Calcium-channel blocking drugs – 170
- Nitrates – 54
- Sympathomimetics – 25
- Antiplatelet drugs – 56
- Lipid-regulating drugs – 51
- Bronchodilators – 53
- Antihistamines – 28
- Cough preparations – 6
- Nasal decongestants – 63
- Hypnotics and anxiolytics – 47
- Antidepressant drugs – 99
- Analgesics – 86
- Antiepileptic drugs – 232
- Drugs used in alcohol, nicotine or opidoid dependence – 68
- Antibacterial drugs – 66
- Antifungal drugs – 37
- Antiviral drugs – 20
- Antidiabetic drugs – 88
- Contraceptives – 268
- Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs – 131
- Rubefacients, topical NSAIDs, or capsaicin – 210
- Anti-infective eye preparations – 111
- Emollient and barrier preparations – 89
- Topical corticosteroids – 106
- Immunological products and vaccines – 89
- Dressings – 82
- Appliances – 68
- Hormone replacement therapy drugs – 339
- Other – 32
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