This story was first published in digitalhealth.net
NHS short of dozens of lifesaving medicines
The Guardian has learnt that the NHS is running short of dozens of lifesaving medicines, including treatments for cancer, heart conditions and epilepsy.
A 24-page document recently circulated to some doctors from the medicine supply team at the Department of Health and Social Care, headed ‘commercial-sensitive’, listed many drugs currently hit by shortages at the NHS. The 24-page document warned: “This information is confidential to the NHS, please do not upload to websites in the public domain.”
The document listed 17 new drug shortages, including drugs for cancer, Parkinson’s, mental health problems and some eye conditions, as well as identifying ongoing issues with 69 different types and doses of medication including antibiotics for tuberculosis, diamorphine, various cancer drugs, heart condition drugs, Hepatitis vaccines and anti-epilepsy drugs.
Doctors have said that the breadth of conditions identified in the list obtained by the Guardian was ‘unprecedented’.
A spokesman at the Association for the British Pharmaceutical Industry said: “For new on-patent medicines there is an agreement between the government and pharmaceutical companies to cap NHS spending growth on branded medicines at two per cent, with anything over this paid back to the government. Manufacturers know that any medicine shortage is extremely worrying for the people affected by it and they do everything they can to prevent medicine supply problems occurring and to resolve them quickly if they do happen.”
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