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Pharmacy teams across the UK remain on the frontline of the medicines shortages crisis, according to the Royal Pharmaceutical Society’s Medicines Shortages: One Year On report.

Published today (March 24), the document reviews progress since the RPS's December 2024 report, Solutions for Empty Shelves, and paints a stark picture – shortages are still widespread, consuming significant time and resources, while diverting pharmacists from patient-facing care.

The report highlights that while some local systems have invested in dedicated shortages teams, national funding cuts and the merger of DHSC and NHS England threaten operational capacity and the loss of vital local expertise.

RPS president Claire Anderson commented: “While there have been some very positive steps since our [initial] report, patients, pharmacy teams and the NHS continue to feel the impact of medicines shortages. Despite some evidence that medicines shortages may have reduced over 2025, this is not felt by pharmacy teams on the ground, who continue to manage shortages of widely prescribed medicines on a daily basis.”

Professor Anderson called for national strategy to address the shortages, supported by senior leaders in Government and backed with continued investment. “In a global market, shaped by geopolitical uncertainty and competing national interests, the Government must take decisive steps to protect medicines supply,” she said.

The RPS has long wanted pharmacists to be empowered to make safe, appropriate substitutions when a medicine is in short supply, she added.

Jacob Lant, chief executive of National Voices, said the ongoing shortages increase patient anxiety and risk forcing clinicians into “second-best choices”, calling for a system that protects patients from supply disruption.

The report demands urgent reforms to medicines reimbursement and supply to secure patient access to vital medicines.