Causes of the crisis are thought to include the plummeting purchasing value of the pound since the Brexit referendum, which reduces the NHS’s ability to source medicines abroad, and a government policy of taxing manufacturers.

…

The EU, of which the UK is no longer a member, recently agreed to create a stockpile for key drugs and to invest in increased domestic production.

It’s almost like this Brexit lark was a bad idea.

This isn’t a sudden thing, it’s been building for a while now and we should have been taking steps, like incentivising local manufacture for a while.

This is the best summary I could come up with:

An unprecedented medicines shortage in the NHS is endangering lives, pharmacists have said, as unpublished figures reveal that the number of products in short supply has doubled in two years.

Causes of the crisis are thought to include the plummeting purchasing value of the pound since the Brexit referendum, which reduces the NHS’s ability to source medicines abroad, and a government policy of taxing manufacturers.

Delyth Morgan, the chief executive of Breast Cancer Now, said her organisation had been contacted over the past 12 months by several patients unable to source the medicines they needed to control the spread of their disease.

She said: “Last year many people shared with us, via Breast Cancer Now’s helpline, that they’d been facing difficulties accessing their hormone treatment including letrozole, anastrozole and tamoxifen, causing them huge worry and anxiety.

There are also concerns that a government policy to limit NHS spending on branded drugs is having an effect on the pharmaceutical industry’s willingness to invest in supplying the UK.

“The department has well-established procedures to deal with such issues and works closely with industry, the NHS and others to prevent shortages, and resolve any problems as soon as they arise.

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