State of the record
The state of UK medicine shortages
A plain-English picture of what the record shows — how many shortages have been notified, whether it is getting worse, and which medicines keep coming back. Every figure below is counted from source-linked notifications, free to quote and link. Last checked 20 Oct 2026.
Is it getting worse?
New Medicine Supply Notifications and safety alerts recorded each year. The busiest complete year on record was 2023 with 84. The first and last years are partial — the notifications series begins in 2021 and 2026 is still in progress — so read the middle years for the trend.
| Year | New notifications | |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 (partial) | 32 | |
| 2022 | 78 | |
| 2023 | 84 | |
| 2024 | 80 | |
| 2025 | 57 | |
| 2026 (so far) | 37 |
The medicines that keep going short
Ranked by how many separate times each has been notified short. Grouping is by the medicine named in each notice; dm+d coding will merge brands with their generic. Each links to its full history.
| Medicine | Times short | First | Most recent |
|---|---|---|---|
| Estradiol | 13 | 09 Dec 2021 | 06 Aug 2025 |
| Disopyramide | 5 | 23 Mar 2022 | 22 Jun 2026 |
| Isosorbide Mononitrate | 5 | 03 Jan 2024 | 24 Jul 2025 |
| Salbutamol | 5 | 21 Feb 2024 | 04 Jul 2025 |
| Diltiazem | 4 | 16 Mar 2022 | 07 Apr 2025 |
| Fluticasone | 4 | 07 Mar 2022 | 28 Nov 2023 |
| Oxybutynin | 4 | 16 Mar 2022 | 28 Jan 2026 |
| Prochlorperazine | 4 | 12 Oct 2022 | 12 Mar 2024 |
| Atorvastatin | 3 | 15 Feb 2022 | 24 Nov 2022 |
| Buprenorphine | 3 | 07 May 2025 | 15 Jan 2026 |
The longest-running shortage protocols
Serious Shortage Protocols let pharmacists substitute or restrict supply during a shortage. These have run longest — elapsed time only, not their scheduled end.
| Protocol | Running for | Status |
|---|---|---|
| SSP005 | 3.1 years | expired |
| SSP061 | 2.5 years | in force |
| SSP060 | 2.4 years | expired |
| SSP079 | 1.9 years | in force |
| SSP081 | 1.9 years | in force |
Permanent exits
Not every gap is temporary. 63 product discontinuations have been relayed via UK supply notices in our record — a market exit, not a shortage that resolves. See the discontinuations register →
Citing these figures
Free to quote and link, with attribution to ShortageSignal (Doctor Data Ltd). Every number here traces to the underlying record — the UK Shortage Index and medicines A–Z hold the detail, and the methodology states sources, cadence and coverage limits. Machine-readable via the open API.
Counts are of publicly-relayed notifications, England-first; UK-wide only where the source is. Figures move as sources update; corrections are logged on the corrections page. Not an official NHS or DHSC service.