Press & citations

ShortageSignal is a free, source-linked record of UK medicine shortage notifications. If you're writing about shortages, the numbers below are free to quote — every one links to its official source, and you're welcome to a comment from the founder.

The numbers today (08 Sep 2026)

316 medicine supply notices currently tracked.
7 Serious Shortage Protocols in force (of 87 on record since 03 Oct 2019).
31 supply notifications and safety alerts so far this year.
The longest-running protocol currently in force, SSP061, has run for 2.3 years so far (since 24 May 2024, currently scheduled to 02 Oct 2026).

Live figures: UK Shortage Index. Machine-readable: the API.

How to cite

“UK Shortage Index, ShortageSignal (shortagesignal.co.uk), by Doctor Data Ltd” — and please link the specific page you used. Everything on the site is re-expressed facts from published sources with the source document linked, so any figure is one click from being verified.

A quote you can use

“Shortage notices are scattered and vanish once resolved, so no one could say how long these shortages actually last or how often they recur. ShortageSignal keeps the record — dated and source-linked — so for the first time the pattern is visible.”

— Dr Mustafa Ghafouri, founder, ShortageSignal; medical doctor and former MHRA Lead Data Architect.

About the founder

Dr Mustafa Ghafouri is a medical doctor and health-data scientist, and a former Lead Data Architect at the MHRA. He built and runs ShortageSignal and hospitalwaits.co.uk through Doctor Data Ltd. Available for comment on UK medicine shortages.

Contact

Email mustafa@doctor-data.co.uk — happy to provide bespoke figures (a specific medicine, therapeutic area or time period), a chart, or a quote on deadline.

ShortageSignal is not an official NHS or DHSC service. Coverage is England-first; UK-wide where the source is. Methodology: /methodology.