![\"Rachel](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/bbc_us_articles_995\/6acb321aba94556e560d73bfee54b839.jpeg\"\/)
<\/p>\nWhen Jack Tolley left home to go to university, he thought it would be the next chapter of his life.<\/p>\n
Even after he was diagnosed in his first year with severe epilepsy, he knew regular medication should allow him to manage it.<\/p>\n
But shortages of those key medicines left him struggling – “it should just be so simple to get hold of” – and were among the main reasons why he had to leave university and come back home.<\/p>\n
“I really struggled with leaving university because of the friendships that I’d made there, because of the people that I had to leave behind, because of this lack of medications,” he admitted.<\/p>\n
Tolley’s epilepsy is very severe – on one occasion he had to be put into an induced coma by doctors after multiple seizures.<\/p>\n
To manage it, the 20-year-old takes 17 tablets every day, of four different types of medicines.<\/p>\n
When he was at university in Bournemouth, a major issues for him was having to travel between pharmacies to hunt down medication due to shortages.<\/p>\n
Unable to drive due to his epilepsy, he said: “I rely on public transport to get to these places but you’re also fighting that with the risk of having a seizure.”<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Rachel Murphy said her son’s independence had been affected by the medicine shortage [BBC]<\/p>\n
Away from his home in Stourbridge, in the West Midlands, his life was becoming increasingly difficult with the short supplies and he left univesity earlier this year.<\/p>\n
“I wasn’t able to go out by myself very often at all because there was too much risk of me collapsing in public or collapsing on a bus and the effects of that could be catastrophic,” Tolley said.<\/p>\n
His mother, Rachel Murphy, said she ordered his medication weeks in advance.<\/p>\n
The 40-year-old said her local pharmacy was good, but she still sometimes had to drive around chemists to find the different medicines her son needed.<\/p>\n
“As a parent our job is to protect our children and if I can’t get that medication that I know can save my son’s life, it’s a horrible feeling. It’s very scary,” she said.<\/p>\n
Murphy and her son are among many families struggling – the National Pharmacy Association said record shortages in recent months include common items like painkillers, blood pressure and epilepsy medication.<\/p>\n
Warnings after deaths<\/p>\n
The medicines market has never been more volatile, the National Pharmacy Association (NPA) says, with shortages of global ingredients and a competitive international market among many reasons for problems.<\/p>\n
The government says most medicines are in good supply, and it is investing to boost UK production.<\/p>\n
But the Epilepsy Society wants ministers to have emergency supplies for people with so-called cliff-edge conditions, where missing a single dose of medication can cause life-threatening harm.<\/p>\n
Chief executive Clare Pelham added: “We have very sadly been made aware of two deaths, both of young men, where the coroner issued a prevention of future deaths notice because they were so concerned about the impact of medication shortages.”<\/p>\n
One such notice was issued over the death of David Crompton in Yorkshire<\/a> and another over Charlie Marriage, who died in London,<\/a> who both died after being unable to get their epilepsy drugs due to shortages, their inquests heard.<\/p>\n Pharmacist Sanjeev Panesar said the current shortage of medicines was “the worst I’ve ever seen” [BBC]<\/p>\n The current situation over availability of medicines is “the worst I’ve ever seen”, according to Sanjeev Panesar<\/p>\n He is superintendent pharmacist at Pan Pharmacy in Sheldon, Birmingham and also a board member of the NPA.<\/p>\n “The amount of time I’m having to invest in trying to source medicines or communicate to patients and surgeries the alternatives and trying to support them – it takes up a lot of time,” he said.<\/p>\n “What essentially is happening is we’re expected to supply medicines at a loss which is not sustainable.<\/p>\n “So if we’re getting paid by the government less money than what we’re able to buy the medicines in for, we’re running at a loss.<\/p>\n “When you think about the high volume of medicines that we’re having to supply for these medicines that are in short supply, that has a massive impact on the operating costs and the viability of us to function as a pharmacy business and as a healthcare provider to the community.”<\/p>\n Panesar added they did everything they could to help.<\/p>\n Richard Stables said he had problems getting the correct dosage of his medicine due to the shortages [BBC]<\/p>\n One customer at the pharmacy, Richard Stables, said he sometimes had to go back to his doctor to get alternative prescriptions.<\/p>\n “It’s blood pressure tablets, so you could have a stroke or heart attack any second,” he said.<\/p>\n “It’s a bit annoying [to] keep going up and down, up and down \u2013 more stress.”<\/p>\n Most medicines in the UK are in good supply, a spokesperson for the Department of Health spokesperson said.<\/p>\n “This government is investing in the UK medicine manufacturing industry to manage supply disruptions where they occur,” they added.<\/p>\n “Including up to \u00a3520m in the Life Sciences Innovative Manufacturing Fund to boost UK production.<\/p>\n “If you’re affected by a shortage, speak to your pharmacist. They can advise whether an alternative medicine or formulation is right for you, or help you find a pharmacy that has it in stock.”<\/p>\n But the Epilepsy Society warned that some people with the condition cannot change brands without risking seizures.<\/p>\n Follow BBC Birmingham on BBC Sounds<\/a>, Facebook<\/a>, X<\/a> and Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n More on this storyRelated internet links![\"Sanjeev](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/bbc_us_articles_995\/f0ccf8f233ea96956f2d759256b2d118.jpeg\"\/)
<\/p>\n![\"Richard](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/bbc_us_articles_995\/686c35dd286d9e4597573fd167513ffe.jpeg\"\/)
<\/p>\n