Sadly, medicine shortages are the “new normal” in the UK, a situation made worse by Brexit, according to a report from the Nuffield Trust health thinktank.
Frustratingly, medicine provision is a matter reserved to Westminster.
While there are a variety of factors responsible for such shortages, the report found that the situation has been exacerbated by Brexit and the loss of European supply chains and authorisations.
Over the last year, serious disruption has impacted UK medicine supply for conditions like Attention-Deficit / Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), type 2 diabetes and epilepsy.
Antibiotics and chemotherapy drugs cisplatin and carboplatin have also been impacted.
The number of alerts issued by pharmaceutical companies about potential supply disruptions has more than doubled from 648 in 2020 to 1,634 last year.
In the aftermath of Brexit, some overseas companies opted to exclude the UK from their supply chains. Customs checks at the border and the UK's departure from the European Medicines Agency have disrupted the previously seamless flow.
Additionally, the UK's slower medicine approval process compared to the EU has contributed to delays in making new drugs available.
The pound’s depreciation since 2016 has driven up prices.
The report also suggests that shortages could worsen, particularly as the EU's member states have unified efforts to mitigate global scarcity, potentially deprioritizing supplying the UK even further.
Despite all of this, Labour, the Tories and Lib Dems remain wedded to Brexit. The SNP is the only party offering Scotland a route back to the EU via independence.
At the upcoming General Election, only the SNP can be trusted to stand up for Scotland, protect our NHS and advance Scotland's journey to independence.
The Nuffield Trust report can be read here:
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