Hospitals in England hit by shortages of common drugs such as paracetamol
NHS trusts across England are reporting significant shortages of essential medications including aspirin, paracetamol, and ramipril. Experts attribute these supply chain disruptions to global conflicts, trade disputes, and manufacturing issues.
Why it matters
Widespread drug shortages pose a direct threat to public health and highlight the fragility of international medical supply chains.
Twenty-six of the 42 trusts that responded about aspirin had experienced disruption to their supplies. Twenty-six of the 42 trusts that responded about aspirin had experienced disruption to their supplies. Hospitals Hospitals in England hit by shortages of common drugs such as paracetamol NHS trusts also report disruption to supplies last winter of co-codamol and blood pressure medication ramipril
Prefer the Guardian on Google Hospitals are being hit by shortages of key drugs used to provide pain relief, prevent blood clots and tackle high blood pressure.
Dozens of NHS trusts in England have encountered scarcities of aspirin, the painkiller co-codamol – a combination of paracetamol and codeine – and ramipril, a blood pressure tablet.
Nine trusts have had problems getting enough supplies of two of those three common medications, while one – Kent community health NHS trust – ran short of all three.
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