Blood sample bottles – August 2021
NHS England ordered hospitals and GP practices to limit the number of blood tests performed on patients due to acute shortages of blood sample bottles. The NHS’s main supplier of blood collection tubes, Becton Dickinson, had not been able to keep up with demand. This added to existing pressures on supply from transportation and UK border challenges.
PPE – April 2020
NHS staff were faced with extreme shortages of personal protective equipment (PPE), including gowns and surgical face masks, during the first months of the Covid-19 pandemic. Faced with these shortages, Public Health England instructed healthcare workers to reuse disposable PPE until hospitals were resupplied.
Scrubs – June 2020
Hospitals faced shortages of scrubs, following an increase in NHS staff wearing scrubs to protect themselves against Covid-19. Staff who previously wore their own clothes at work switched to scrubs and were handing them in to be washed at the end of their shifts. The huge increase in demand and unprecedented pressure on hospital cleaning services left many hospitals struggling to keep up.
Vital equipment – January 2018
Hospitals faced serious shortages of vital equipment such as ventilators, pumps to administer drugs and oxygen cylinders during the NHS winter crisis. The surge of people needing care during the winter months due to the cold weather and an outbreak of flu was compounded by pre-existing financial pressures on hospitals. Basic items such as blood tubes, drip stands, beds and pillows were also in short supply.
Diagnostic and treatment technology – May 2018
Multimillion-pound NHS budget cuts left hospitals unable to afford the most up-to-date scanners and surgical equipment, used to treat patients with cancer and other life-threatening diseases. Staff had to continue using old diagnostic and treatment technology in areas such as radiography because the funds were insufficient to replace them.
Drug shortages
Availability of medicines is becoming more uncertain as a result of Brexit, the Covid pandemic and ingredient supply problems. The unpredictability has caused problems and frustration for people managing their health and for pharmacy staff. In 2019, the NHS was already running short of lifesaving medicines including treatments for cancer, heart conditions and epilepsy. Drug shortages intensified during the pandemic as medicines stockpiled for Brexit were quickly used up during the second wave.
