Image: PXhere, CC0
Warnings of price hikes, supply problems and stockpiling under a no-deal Brexit has pushed medicines into the media spotlight of late – and no wonder. Yet the problems of accessing essential medicines go beyond whether or not a Brexit deal is reached. Many vital medicines are already not getting through.
Last week NHS England published its spending on medicines for the past year which amounted to a staggering £20 billion. That’s an 11 percent increase from the previous year and a 55 percent hike since 2010. For anyone following news about the NHS, that £20 billion figure may seem familiar as it’s the same amount the government announced it would be injecting into the NHS in the recent autumn budget. Yet even with this financial boost, the drugs bill is still rising faster than the NHS funding to pay for it.
