Brexit has contributed to a shortage of certain medicines at pharmacies in England, according to a body that represents the sector.

It comes as a medical charity says anxiety over drugs shortages has risen among epilepsy patients because of Brexit, potentially causing them further health issues.

Supply issues partly blamed on Brexit contingency planning have caused an official list of “concession” priced medicines – those drugs for which the NHS will pay a higher than usual tariff – to reach its longest since 2014, when the system was introduced.

The Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC), which draws up the list, said Britain’s planned exit from the EU coupled with manufacturers’ views of the country as a less attractive market had caused these significant problems.

Medicines are usually added to the concessions list when manufacturers or wholesalers raise their prices because of factors such as supply issues. The list is considered a good measure for increases in shortages.

Ninety-six medicines appear on the concessions list, including the common painkiller naproxen and certain morphine products prescribed to cancer patients.

Simon Dukes, the chief executive of PSNC, said: “Community pharmacies are reporting increasing problems sourcing some generic medicines for their patients.”

The PSNC draws up the monthly list with feedback from pharmacists and negotiates concessionary prices with the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC).

Dukes said: “Community pharmacy teams are continuing to work hard to ensure that all patients receive the medicines they need when they need them, but we are becoming increasingly concerned about the impact that this is having on already busy pharmacy teams.”

Separately, the Epilepsy Society has said the number of calls to its helpline relating to potential drug shortages has escalated in the last six months.

The charity said supply of the medicines fluctuated all the time but there was a current issue relating to shortages of some of the drugs used to control seizures because of disruption at an EU manufacturer’s plant last summer.

“We’ve had an unprecedented number of call to our helpline and enquiries from people about the supply of medication,” said a spokeswoman.

“In March alone, our helpline [open three days a week] received 18 calls about medication shortages. We would usually receive one call every six months. Our online enquiries have received queries on a daily basis, sometimes several times a day.”

The government has been urging pharmaceutical companies to stockpile six weeks’ worth of essential medicines in the event of a no-deal Brexit.

Critics of a no-deal scenario say Britain’s reliance on the EU to import drugs and medical equipment could ramp up costs and cause supply chain issues, with clinics and patients stockpiling, leading to shortages.

Ley Sander, the medical director of the Epilepsy Society, is advising patients not to stockpile. “We understand people’s concerns. However this has the potential to create a shortage of medication itself,” he said.

A spokesman for the DHSC said it accepted there were some supply issues with epilepsy drugs but “both the department and the manufacturers are clear that these supply issues are completely unrelated to EU exit”. He also denied there were wider supply issues.



“There is no evidence the small number of current supply issues we are managing are related to EU exit or increasing because of this,” the spokesman said.

“We have well-established processes to manage and mitigate supply issues from whatever cause, including manufacturing or distribution problems. We are confident that if everyone does what they need to do, the supply of medicines should be uninterrupted in the event of no deal.”