With 80% of NHS prescriptions counting on generic medication, the UK stays perilously depending on abroad manufacturing.
Britain is over-reliant on China for medicines, the report warns (Picture: Getty)
Britain’s reliance on China for life-saving NHS medicines is a ticking time bomb, exposing sufferers to “harmful” vulnerabilities in fragile world provide chains, a brand new report has warned. The Home of Lords Public Providers Committee’s report, Medicines safety—a nationwide precedence, printed right now, highlights medication provide shortages as a vital nationwide safety danger, with profound threats to public well being when sufferers cannot entry important medication.
It criticises the UK Authorities and NHS for missing oversight and coordination on medication resilience, focusing reactively on crises fairly than stopping them. Key findings reveal the Authorities’s failure to speak shortages or options successfully to frontline workers like pharmacists and GPs. There’s minimal oversight from the Division of Well being and Social Care (DHSC) on medication shares or dangers to vital medicines, whose shortages may severely affect sufferers. Alarmingly, 73% of pharmacy staff in 2025 reported ongoing provide points endangering sufferers.
Pharmacists are closely reliant on India and China [FILE PIC] (Picture: Getty)
The report underscores the UK’s heavy dependence: the vast majority of energetic elements for NHS medicines come from China, India, or single sources, risking disruptions from geopolitics, commerce points, or disasters. Of the 80% generic medicines prescribed by the NHS, solely 1 / 4 are manufactured within the UK, with most produced in Europe and Asia.
Baroness Morris of Yardley, who chaired the inquiry, pulled no punches: “We are inclined to solely consider medicines and medication provide once we are sick and wish entry to medicine by way of our GPs, hospitals or pharmacies. Nevertheless, the problem is of nice significance due to the danger to individuals’s well being and wellbeing if medication shortages happen.”
She continued: “Our inquiry discovered that issues have been raised about medication shortages and there are points with medicines resilience. Nevertheless, the Division of Well being and Social Care (DHSC) will not be notably proactive in tackling these points, and it isn’t given the eye wanted given the big affect on the nation if issues come up. There’s a normal lack of oversight and management to handle present shortcomings throughout the medicines provide and manufacturing course of.”
The committee’s suggestions demand motion: Deal with medication safety as a nationwide safety concern, add it to the Nationwide Danger Register, and conduct common preparedness workouts for large-scale medication and API failures. Appoint a senior particular person to supervise resilience throughout authorities, making certain knowledge sharing.
Enhance data sharing with care suppliers on shortages and availability, equipping GPs, hospitals, and pharmacies with instruments to assist sufferers. Increase UK manufacturing of generic medicines and elements, collaborating with trade to boost provide chain resilience by means of procurement and contracts.
Publish a Important Medicines Listing and API listing, based mostly on medical precedence and vulnerability, to information manufacturing, stockpiling, and negotiations. The federal government ought to define plans to strengthen resilience for this stuff.
Baroness Morris burdened: “We’ve set out a lot of suggestions in our report which ought to assist deal with the problems raised. Chief amongst these is the necessity for higher communication of any shortages to GPs, hospitals and pharmacies to allow them to take needed motion to assist sufferers and extra importantly, the popularity that medicines provide chain resilience is a nationwide safety concern that must be on the nationwide safety danger register and prioritised accordingly.”
She added: “There must be senior authorities oversight of the problem with cross division coordination in order that needed motion may be taken to each deal with points once they happen and head off points by taking well timed preventative measures.”
Concerning manufacturing, she added: “The Authorities additionally have to look extra carefully at how we will increase medicines manufacturing throughout the UK to scale back our reliance on single supply provides or an over reliance on China or India the place the vast majority of our NHS medicines are made.
“This could ideally scale back our vulnerability to outdoors elements reminiscent of nationwide disasters or commerce or political disputes affecting more and more fragile world provide chains.”
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She concluded: “The Authorities wants to contemplate compiling a Important Medicines Listing after which take a look at how we will improve the UK manufacture of the medicines on that listing and shore up our resilience and stockpiling based mostly on it.
“Medicines are important to the well being of the nation and so we urge the Authorities to comply with our suggestions to make sure the UK has the very important, robust, resilient medicines provide chain it must preserve individuals wholesome.”
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