Data may be out of date. Our scheduled checks are behind: the last successful check of the sources finished 20 Oct 2026, 21:00 UTC (6 days ago), more than 36 hours ago. Checks normally run twice daily, so figures on this page may be out of date. See the service status.
ShortageSignal

← Weekly digest

Weekly digest · ISO week 2023-W03

16 Jan 2023 to 22 Jan 2023: UK medicine supply changes

11 items dated 16 Jan 2023 to 22 Jan 2023, each a re-expressed fact linked to its source document. This week is over. Changes are filed by the date the source gives them, so this week can still gain one if a source is captured late. Protocol end dates and expected-back windows are shown as the NHSBSA register and the notices stood when last checked, not as they stood during this week: a later extension or update can move one of them to another week or remove it. Corrections are logged on the corrections page.

Sources are checked twice daily by scheduled jobs (not live). Last checked 2026-10-20 20:54 UTC. England first; Scotland in its own section, never summed. Absence from this page is not availability. Also as Atom and JSON.

New notices · 2

Medicine Supply Notifications and National Patient Safety Alerts dated this week (England).

DateRecordWhat the record says
17 Jan 2023Medicine Supply Notification: Various Insuman Insulin preparations discontinued - Updatedsource document ↗Medicine Supply Notification MSN/2023/002 issued 17 Jan 2023 (tier 2 of 4).
17 Jan 2023Medicine Supply Notification: Vigabatrin (Sabril®) 500mg tabletssource document ↗Medicine Supply Notification MSN/2023/003 issued 17 Jan 2023 (tier 2 of 4).

Updated notices · 0

Notifications whose source post records an update dated this week.

None recorded for this week.

Discontinuations · 1

Discontinuations stated in a notice, dated by the notice or update that states them.

DateRecordWhat the record says
17 Jan 2023Medicine Supply Notification: Various Insuman Insulin preparations discontinued - Updatedsource document ↗Discontinuation notified in MSN/2023/002, dated 17 Jan 2023.

Expected-back windows ending this week · 2

Notices whose current stated expected-back window ends this week. The end is derived from the phrase: the stated day where the source gave one; six days after a stated week-commencing day; otherwise the 10th for "early", the 20th for "mid" and the last day of the month for "late" or a bare month (six days after it for a "week commencing" phrase with no readable day). The sources mostly give phrases like "late July", not days, so each item says which rule applied.

DateRecordWhat the record says
20 Jan 2023MSN/2022/072 — Medicine Supply Notification: Methylprednisolone (Medrone®) 4mg tabletssource document ↗Expected back "mid-January 2023", as currently stated by the source. That stated window ends by 20 Jan 2023 (the 20th of the stated month, the end this record uses for "mid"; the source gives no day). Reaching it is an observation about the record, not about stock at your wholesaler.
22 Jan 2023MSN/2022/113 — Medicine Supply Notification: Prochlorperazine (Stemetil®) 12.5mg/ml solution for injection ampoulessource document ↗Expected back "w/c 16th January 2023", as currently stated by the source. That stated window ends by 22 Jan 2023 (six days after the week-commencing day the source stated). Reaching it is an observation about the record, not about stock at your wholesaler.

Protocols issued, expired or revoked · 0

Serious Shortage Protocols (UK-wide) whose issue, expiry or revocation is dated this week.

None recorded for this week.

Protocols extended · 0

Extensions are dated by the scheduled end they replaced, as the NHSBSA register and announcements record them.

None recorded for this week.

Protocol end dates this week · 0

Protocols whose NHSBSA register end date falls this week, per the register as last checked.

None recorded for this week.

Protocols scheduled to end in the following 14 days · 3

Register end dates from 23 Jan 2023 to 05 Feb 2023. A scheduled end is the register's date, nothing about local stock.

DateRecordWhat the record says
27 Jan 2023SSP036 Estraderm MX 100source document ↗Scheduled end 27 Jan 2023 per the NHSBSA register as last checked. An extension moves this date; check the register before acting.
27 Jan 2023SSP038 Estraderm MX 75 mcg patchessource document ↗Scheduled end 27 Jan 2023 per the NHSBSA register as last checked. An extension moves this date; check the register before acting.
03 Feb 2023SSP039 Atorvastatin 20mg Chewablesource document ↗Scheduled end 03 Feb 2023 per the NHSBSA register as last checked. An extension moves this date; check the register before acting.

Scotland · 3

NHS Scotland Medicine Supply Alert Notices issued this week — a separate source, never summed with England.

DateRecordWhat the record says
16 Jan 2023MSAN(2023)1 — Selegiline (Eldepryl®) 5mg and 10mg tabletssource document ↗NHS Scotland Medicine Supply Alert Notice issued 16 Jan 2023, priority level 2. Scotland only — never added to England counts.
16 Jan 2023MSAN(2023)2 — Dalteparin (Fragmin®) 10,000units/1mL solution for injection ampoulesource document ↗NHS Scotland Medicine Supply Alert Notice issued 16 Jan 2023, priority level 3. Scotland only — never added to England counts.
16 Jan 2023MSAN(2023)3 — Sulfasalazine 250mg in 5ml oral suspension sugar freesource document ↗NHS Scotland Medicine Supply Alert Notice issued 16 Jan 2023, priority level 2. Scotland only — never added to England counts.

Cite as: “UK medicine supply changes, week 2023-W03 (16 Jan 2023 to 22 Jan 2023), ShortageSignal (shortagesignal.co.uk/digest/2023-W03), by Doctor Data Ltd.” Derived facts CC BY 4.0; source documents belong to their publishers and are linked, not reproduced. A protocol's scheduled end is the NHSBSA register's date and says nothing about local stock. Not an official NHS or DHSC service; not clinical advice.