Hospitals are already facing drugs shortages as a consequence of Brexit, with an "information vacuum" hampering their ability to plan for no deal, NHS trust leaders have warned.

One hospital chief executive said they are currently unable to source more than 160 medicines on a daily basis, an increase from about 30 in normal circumstances.

Other chief executives said Brexit had already had a negative impact on staffing, with EU nurses and doctors leaving the service, and poses a threat to future vaccination programmes and the maintenance of hospital infrastructure.

All complained of a lack of meaningful guidance from NHS England to local hospital trusts, describing planning as "high-level and sketchy" and "like navigating through treacle".

The Department of Health and Social Care has instructed hospital trusts not to stockpile medicines, asking them to rely on nationally co-ordinated reserves of at least a six-week supply of drugs and medical supplies.


Three chief executives, speaking off the record, said they are concerned that Brexit planning and stockpiling was already causing drug shortages.

"There is an information vacuum about Brexit at a local level," one said.

"The biggest risk we face is can we access drugs, and we are already starting to see hard-to-obtain drugs escalating on a daily basis. On an average day there would be 30 drugs that would be hard to get, but that has risen to more than 160, and I do not believe that is not a direct link [to Brexit]."

Image: Brexit planning has been described as 'high-level and sketchy' and 'like navigating through treacle'

The chief executives were critical of the government's no-deal planning and complained of a lack of useful detail provided to trusts at a local level.

"We have had a couple of regional briefings but they were high-level and sketchy," said one. "They have said don't stockpile medicines because that is done nationally, but they have asked us to take on planning for other areas, without being specific about what they are.

"It has been like navigating through treacle. It has taken far too long to get to the granularity of what no deal is, it makes you question what level of planning has gone into it."

One chief executive warned that Brexit had already impacted on recruitment, with two-thirds of European nurses at their trust having departed since the EU referendum in 2016.

"Since the pound devalued many concluded it was no longer worth working here because they were no longer able to send money home," they said.

Image: Two-thirds of European nurses have left one trust since the EU referendum in 2016

A third chief executive said they had concerns about vaccination programmes and the impact of a staffing shortage on social care.

They explained: "We are all planning child health programmes in future and as it stands we have no guarantees about the supply of vaccinations.

"There is also a subtle impact on the workforce that could happen over time. The NHS will not have a long-term plan and supply of local workforce for at least five years, and until we do we will be reliant on scouring the world for staff."

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: "These claims are misleading - there is no evidence to suggest the small number of current supply issues are related to EU exit nor that these are increasing as suggested.

"We have well established procedures to deal with any disruption to the supply chain and our plans to ensure patients can continue to receive the medicines they need, whatever the outcome of negotiations, are well advanced."

In January, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said demand for more than 12,000 medicine lines had been analysed and drugs would be prioritised over food imports in the event of customs delays at Dover, and said he was confident supply would be unhindered "if everybody does what they need to do".

The government has also secured guaranteed space for importation of medicines on ferries that will run to Portsmouth, Poole, Plymouth, Folkestone and Immingham, and has chartered an aircraft for transporting time-sensitive medicines.

In December, NHS England triggered its no-deal contingency plans, and senior executives have held briefings with hospital Trust chief executives across the country.