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Medicines shortages continue to hinder pharmacies’ provision of care across England and are jeopardising patients’ health, according to a survey by Community Pharmacy England.

The negotiator’s latest pharmacy pressures survey, which got feedback from the owners of over 4,300 pharmacies and more than 1,600 pharmacy team members, found shortages showed “no sign of improvement”.

Ninety-five per cent of pharmacy teams said patients were “still being inconvenienced by ongoing shortages” and nearly 73 per cent of teams said supply issues were “putting patient health at risk”.

Rising patient aggression towards pharmacy staff

Medicines treating schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, angina, cardiovascular disease, ADHD, diabetes, epilepsy as well as HRT, antibiotics and pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy have been in shortage this year.

The report also shed light on rising patient aggression towards pharmacy staff when medicines are unavailable. Ninety-six per cent of pharmacy team members said patient frustration was “a common consequence of supply issues” and 79 per cent of staff said they had to bear the brunt of patients’ aggression when medicines were unavailable or delayed.

CPE said “aggression from patients remains high” having risen from 75 per cent in 2022 to 79 per cent this year.

Eight-six per cent of pharmacy owners said shortages forced patients to “visit multiple pharmacies” in an attempt to get their medicines.

The report drew other concerning comparisons with figures in CPE’s report in 2022. Three years ago, 51 per cent of pharmacy teams said patients were being negatively affected by supply delays but that increased to 73 per cent this year.

Supply problems have worsened in the last three years, with 67 per cent of staff reporting daily issues, rising to 87 per cent in 2025.

Supply system stuck at breaking point

Pharmacy teams are spending more time trying to deal with supply problems. They spent 5.3 hours a week on average managing the issue in 2022 but the latest report found 40 per cent of staff were spending one to two hours each day while a quarter spend over two hours daily.

Almost half of pharmacy owners said patient services were being “negatively affected by pressures on their business” while 94 per cent linked that “directly to medicine supply problems as a root cause”.

CPE said “the supply system seems stuck at breaking point, with pharmacies and patients paying the price” and warned the Government “pharmacies need urgent, systemic action”.

Pharmacy’s negotiator called on Labour to give pharmacists greater flexibility during shortages, such as the ability to substitute medication where it is safe to do so and with the agreement of the patient, as well as “ensure fairer financial arrangements for the medicines that pharmacies supply”.

CPE chief executive Janet Morrison said a variety of factors were causing shortages, such as product discontinuations, global supply chain challenges and low medicine prices in the UK which made the market less appealing to manufacturers.

Warning medicine supply issues had become “a distressing new normal”, she said: “Delays in receiving medicines not only disrupt patients’ treatment but can also cause unnecessary stress and potential harm to their health.

“The ongoing time and effort required to manage shortages also adds pressure on pharmacy teams, who are already working at full stretch. Our survey results suggest a system stuck that is stuck at breaking point.”

Morrison added: “The future is uncertain, with expected drug price inflation and potential knock-on effects across the NHS, but we welcome the Government’s commitment to ongoing work to shore up supply chain resilience and will be monitoring the situation.”

NPA: Pharmacists must be allowed to use professional judgment

The National Pharmacy Association chair Olivier Picard urged the Government to allow pharmacists “to use their professional judgment to supply an appropriate alternative medication when the prescribed version is unavailable”.

“As this survey shows, pharmacies are at the sharp end of medicines shortages and frequently have to turn away distressed and frustrated patients,” he said.

“It is particularly frustrating for pharmacists to be unable to meet a clear need when they have a perfectly safe and effective solution in their pharmacy already.

“It is madness to send someone back to their GP to get a prescription changed, and it risks a patient either delaying taking vital medication or forgoing it altogether, which poses a clear risk to patient safety.”