Leaving the European Union is not without consequences. This is demonstrated by the example of Brexit, validated in 2016 after a referendum, and enacted in 2020. Economic recession, insufficient workforce, and now… shortages of medicines. According to a study conducted by the Nuffield Trusta think tank specializing in health, the number of alert declarations of imminent drug shortages would have doubled in three years, going from 648 in 2020 to 1,634 last year.
Antibiotics, epilepsy treatments, or replacement hormones prescribed to menopausal women… In the United Kingdom, drug shortages have become the “new normal”, summarizes the report. “More and more patients […] are being told by their pharmacist that their treatment is not available, may not be available quickly and is unlikely to be available at any other (pharmacy) nearby,” Mark Dayan of the Nuffield Trust said in a statement.
Impeded traffic
A phenomenon that he describes as “shocking”, and which seems to have increased with the country’s exit from the European Union. This, for several reasons. First of all, since the activation of Brexit, medicines “no longer circulate as easily” with the Twenty-Seven. Then, the British authorities also generally take longer than their European counterparts to authorize new drugs.
Consequence: the government triggers the financial mechanism much more often allowing it to overpay for medicines because cheaper alternatives are no longer available. And while before 2016, this mechanism was not used more than 20 times per month, its use increased to 199 per month at the end of 2022. And it has never come down. To the point of arriving at an additional cost estimated at around 220 million pounds (257 million euros) per month between September 2022 and September 2023.
The Ministry of Health nuances
Furthermore, Brexit has isolated the UK from the ongoing European effort to redefine supply chains and kept it away from collective measures put in place in the EU to manage shortages. Reasons why experts are calling on the British government to review the supply system, and to improve communication with health professionals on the alternatives available in the event of shortages.
The Ministry of Health wanted to qualify, specifying that “the vast majority” of medicines were easily available. “Most supply issues have been managed smoothly with minimal disruption to patients,” it said.