NHS patients face worst drug shortages on record, say pharmacists and GPs

One patient spoke of the panic of being ‘on the phone for hours … driving around’ to visit pharmacies. Photograph: Matthew Horwood/Alamy

Britons are facing some of the “most severe” shortages of NHS medicines on record including common painkillers, epilepsy drugs and HRT, health leaders have warned, even forcing some patients with impaired digestive systems to skip meals.

The National Pharmacy Association (NPA) has warned that medicine shortages pose a “serious risk to patient safety”.