The Nuffield Trust last week (March 21) published a report on the impact of the UK’s exit from the European Union (EU) on healthcare, revealing that it has “noted signs of unique patterns” of medicine shortages in the UK that “likely do relate to its position outside the EU”.
While the think tank had previously reported that the “elevated and troubling level of medicine shortages...[were] not primarily due to Brexit”, its latest research seems to suggest otherwise.
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“Trade data from the United Nations [shows] that the UK now once again has the lowest rise in imports of medicines of all G7 countries since 2010,” it found.
“The total value has fallen by almost 20% since 2015, the year before the EU referendum, in cash terms – an indication of how medicine supply chains have shifted away from the UK,” it added.
And according to the Nuffield Trust, “this does illustrate the particular impacts of leaving the EU”, adding that “there [has been] little sign of a stable recovery” in the UK since Brexit.
Crisis will “worsen”
It comes after the pharmacy all party parliamentary group (APPG) launched a “vital” inquiry into the impact of medicines shortages in England in December.
At the time, the group asked for evidence from “all those impacted by medicines shortages” – including pharmacists and pharmacy teams, GPs and prescribers, patient groups, professional organisations and medicines manufacturers and distributors.
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And last month, a group of 45 cross-party MPs signed a letter to health secretary Wes Streeting calling for “an urgent review into ongoing medication shortages”, saying that if action is not taken, the crisis will “worsen”.
“[It is] crucial that the cause of this shortfall and potential solutions are understood if we are to safeguard people’s health and ensure they have their life-saving medications,” it said.
And it added that “a review into the UK’s medicines supply chain and potential solutions is critical if we are to resolve this crisis”.
