Shortages Information

For Shortages Guidance January 2023 click here

The DHSC and NHSE/I Medicines Supply Tool is the key resource for all information on medicines supply issues. The link to the website is Medicines Supply Tool – SPS – Specialist Pharmacy Service – The first stop for professional medicines advice

To access the Tool, you will be required to register with the SPS website using your “hscni.net” email. You can then choose either “Community Pharmacist” or “General Medical Practitioner” under Role, and then “Other” under Organisation Type.

In the “Tool”, you will note that each medicines’ supply issue is categorised by an “impact tier”. Full information on each of these impact tiers is available at NHS England » A Guide to Managing Medicines Supply and Shortages

For the majority of tier 2, medium impact, and tier 3, high impact, a Medicines Supply Notification will be issued by DHSC and in turn, DHNI. These are listed below

For tier 1, low impact shortages, the SPS website should be accessed in order to understand how long the shortage is likely to last and to review information on alternative medications which might be available.

The Medicines Supply Tool has a search function allowing you to easily search for a particular medicine.

Parallel Exports:

A list of medicines that should not be parallel exported is available at Medicines that you cannot export from the UK or hoard – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) and will be updated regularly. Medicines will be added to the list if they are needed to meet the needs of UK patients, and where parallel exporting leads, may lead, or contributes to a shortage.

Parallel export of a medicine on the list is considered a breach of regulation 43(2) of the Human Medicines Regulations 2012 and a contravention of the wholesale dealer licence, and may lead to regulatory action by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) which could include immediate suspension of the wholesale dealer licence.

Diclofenac (Voltarol® Ophtha) 0.1% eye drops 0.3ml unit dose preservative-free and diclofenac (Voltarol® Ophtha Multidose) 0.1% eye drops 30th July 2026

Nifedipine 10mg, 20mg, 30mg and 60mg modified-release tablets 23rd July 2026

Nabilone 1mg capsules 14th July 2026

Latanoprost 50micrograms/ml / Timolol 5mg/ml (Fixapost) eye drops 0.2ml unit dose updated 9th July 2026

Sodium valproate (Epilim Chronosphere®) 50mg, 250mg, and 500mg modified-release granules sachets sugar free 7th July 2026

Oxcarbazepine 150mg tablets 3rd July 2026

Propafenone (Arythmol®) 150mg tablet 22nd June 2026

Disopyramide (Rythmodan®) 100mg capsules and disopyramide (Rythmodan Retard®) 250mg modified-release tablets 22nd June 2026

Trurapi® (insulin aspart) 100units/ml solution for injection 3ml pre-filled Solostar pens 19th May 2026

Midazolam (Epistatus®) 7.5mg/0.75ml oromucosal solution pre-filled oral syringes sugar free 5th May 2026

Ramipril 1.25mg capsules 27th April 2026

Levemir® (insulin detemir) FlexPen® 100units/ml and Levemir® (insulin detemir) Penfill 100units/ml 15th April 2026