Data may be out of date.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 (14 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 Checks normally run twice daily, so figures on this page may be out of date.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 2024-W50

09 Dec 2024 to 15 Dec 2024: UK medicine supply changes

9 items dated 09 Dec 2024 to 15 Dec 2024, 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
12 Dec 2024Medicine Supply Notification: Insulatard® (isophane insulin, human) Penfill® 100units/ml suspension for injection 3ml cartridgessource document ↗Medicine Supply Notification MSN/2024/112 issued 12 Dec 2024 (tier 2 of 4).
13 Dec 2024Medicine Supply Notification: Cefalexin 125mg/5ml and 250mg/5ml oral suspensions, sugar freesource document ↗Medicine Supply Notification MSN/2024/113 issued 13 Dec 2024 (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
12 Dec 2024Medicine Supply Notification: Insulatard® (isophane insulin, human) Penfill® 100units/ml suspension for injection 3ml cartridgessource document ↗Discontinuation notified in MSN/2024/112, dated 12 Dec 2024.

Expected-back windows ending this week · 1

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
10 Dec 2024MSN/2024/088 — Medicine Supply Notification: Norethisterone (Noriday® ) 350microgram tabletssource document ↗Expected back "early December 2024", as currently stated by the source. That stated window ends by 10 Dec 2024 (the 10th of the stated month, the end this record uses for "early"; the source gives no day). Reaching it is an observation about the record, not about stock at your wholesaler.

Protocols issued, expired or revoked · 2

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

DateRecordWhat the record says
10 Dec 2024SSP078 Cefalexin 250mg-5ml oral suspensionSerious Shortage Protocol SSP078 issued, valid from 10 Dec 2024, first scheduled to end 31 Jan 2025.
10 Dec 2024SSP077 Cefalexin 125mg-5ml oral suspensionSerious Shortage Protocol SSP077 issued, valid from 10 Dec 2024, first scheduled to end 31 Jan 2025.

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 · 0

Register end dates from 16 Dec 2024 to 29 Dec 2024. A scheduled end is the register's date, nothing about local stock.

None recorded for this week.

Scotland · 3

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

DateRecordWhat the record says
11 Dec 2024MSAN(2024)64 — Coal tar extract (Neutrogena® T/Gel® Therapeutic) 2% shampoosource document ↗NHS Scotland Medicine Supply Alert Notice issued 11 Dec 2024, priority level 2. Scotland only — never added to England counts.
11 Dec 2024MSAN(2024)65 — Diclofenac (Voltarol® Ophtha Multidose) 0.1% eye dropssource document ↗NHS Scotland Medicine Supply Alert Notice issued 11 Dec 2024, priority level 2. Scotland only — never added to England counts.
11 Dec 2024MSAN(2024)66 — Imiquimod (Aldara® 5% and Bascellex® 50mg/g) cream 250mg sachetssource document ↗NHS Scotland Medicine Supply Alert Notice issued 11 Dec 2024, priority level 2. Scotland only — never added to England counts.

Cite as: “UK medicine supply changes, week 2024-W50 (09 Dec 2024 to 15 Dec 2024), ShortageSignal (shortagesignal.co.uk/digest/2024-W50), 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.