This is the full list of medications pharmacies are facing shortages of
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Britain is facing a shortage of drugs that could leave people without access to medication they need, a report has warned.
Pharmacists have warned that a number of vital types of medicine - including diabetes drugs, antiviral treatments, blood pressure pills and painkillers - could all be in short supply.
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Hide AdA poll by Chemist + Druggist has revealed the drugs crisis that could affect millions who are in desperate need of medical treatment.
The survey, which involved 402 pharmacists, found that almost half of pharmacy teams now spend more than an hour every day ringing round GPs and wholesalers trying to source the drugs they need for their customers. Manufacturing problems are to blame for the shortage, and pharmacists surveyed have described their situation as “living on a knife edge” and called for “urgent action”.
Which drugs are in short supply?
The nationwide survey found that the shortage of drugs was an issue across 36 major categories of medicine.
DiureticsAnti-arrhythmic drugsBeta-adrenoceptor blocking drugsAntihypertensive drugsAnticoagulantsAntipsychotic drugsCorticosteroidsLaxativesCalcium-channel blocking drugsNitratesSympathomimeticsAntiplatelet drugsLipid-regulating drugsBronchodilatorsAntihistaminesCough preparationsNasal decongestantsHypnotics and anxiolyticsAntidepressant drugsAnalgesicsAntiepileptic drugsDrugs used in alcohol, nicotine o…Antibacterial drugsAntifungal drugsAntiviral drugsAntidiabetic drugsContraceptivesNon-steroidal anti-inflammatory…Rubefacients, topical NSAIDS, or…Anti-infective eye preparationsEmollient and barrier preparationsTopical corticosteroidsImmunological products and…DressingsAppliancesHormone replacement therapy
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Hide AdThe Department for Health has denied that any of the shortage is related to Brexit.
A total of 84 per cent of the pharmacists interviewed said that they had experienced shortages of HRT in the past six months. This medication is needed by thousands to help alleviate menopause symptoms.
Diabetes drug shortages were experienced by more than a fifth of pharmacists, while two thirds said that contraceptive drugs had been scarce and more than half reported a lack of painkilling creams.
And antidepressants and anti-psychotic drugs were reported as being in short supply, too.