Patients are facing serious harm due to persistent and widespread medicine shortages, MPs<\/a> and peers have warned in a new report. <\/p>\n The All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on pharmacy called for urgent action to prevent critical shortfalls from becoming the “new normal”, highlighting the impact that shortages are having on patients with ADHD<\/a>, menopause<\/a> and diabetes.<\/p>\n Steve Race, chairman of the APPG on pharmacy, said many MPs \u201chave received a growing volume of correspondence from constituents who are understandably anxious about the availability of their medicines\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cWhether it is a parent unable to access antibiotics<\/a> for a sick child, an elderly patient facing delays in obtaining life-sustaining medication, or a pharmacist overwhelmed by the need to source alternatives, the human impact is both visible and deeply troubling,\u201d he wrote in the report.<\/p>\n The report said that while medicine shortages are \u201cnot a new phenomenon\u201d, they have \u201cbecome increasingly severe, persistent, and disruptive\u201d in recent years \u2013 leading to consequences for patients, staff and the wider health service.<\/p>\n open image in gallery<\/p>\n Shortages often impact patients with ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder), menopause and diabetes (Alamy\/PA)<\/p>\n \u201cMedicines shortages have moved from isolated incidents to a chronic structural challenge for both the NHS<\/a> and pharmacy sector,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cAs the government continues to recognise and invest in the expanded clinical role of community pharmacy, we must ensure the medicines supply chain underpinning that care is equally robust, resilient and patient-focused.<\/p>\n \u201cPharmacy is central to NHS recovery and transformation, but frontline teams cannot safely expand clinical services while daily supply disruptions continue to impact the health of patients.\u201d<\/p>\n The findings also highlight how shortages severely impact patients with conditions like ADHD, menopause and diabetes.<\/p>\n More than nine in 10 pharmacists, GPs and prescribers told an APPG survey ADHD medicines had been affected by shortages.<\/p>\n Around three-quarters (76 per cent) said HRT and diabetes drugs had been affected, while 44 per cent said antibiotics.<\/p>\n One patient with ADHD told the inquiry they had been self-medicating with cannabis due to an ongoing shortage of methylphenidate.<\/p>\n The report said: \u201cThese shortages are having a significant impact on patients\u2019 ability to access treatments and in some cases are having serious impact on patients\u2019 health and well-being.\u201d<\/p>\n Mr Race added: \u201cMedicines security must be treated as a core component of NHS planning, alongside funding, workforce and digital infrastructure.<\/p>\n \u201cFailure to act risks further undermining patient care and destabilising a community pharmacy sector that millions depend upon.\u201d<\/p>\n open image in gallery<\/p>\n The inquiry found more than eight in 10 pharmacists face daily shortages (PA)<\/p>\n The APPG has laid out a number of recommendations, which include a number of measures to better support patients.<\/p>\n People impacted by shortages, particularly those with chronic conditions, struggle to find information on out-of-stock drugs, leading to \u201cfrustration, dangerous delays in care, and unnecessary anxiety<\/a> and harm\u201d, it said.<\/p>\n![\"Shortages](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/12091226-335af487-6499-49da-9ecf-0e8911b0bfc2.jpg\")
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