English Hospitals Report Months of Shortages for Common Medicines
Dozens of NHS trusts in England struggled to secure aspirin, co-codamol and ramipril over the past year, according to freedom of information responses compiled by a University College London researcher. The Guardian
Dr Rodolfo Catena of University College London sent requests to 184 trusts. Sixty responded. The replies suggest repeated disruption for three widely used medicines, not one-off gaps.
Of 42 trusts that answered on aspirin, 26, or 62%, reported disruption between December 2025 and March 2026. Thirteen of 42 that replied on co-codamol, or 31%, ran short. Seven of 43 that answered on ramipril, or 16%, could not obtain as much as they needed. Co-codamol is a painkiller that combines paracetamol and codeine. Ramipril is a widely prescribed drug for high blood pressure and heart care.
Nine trusts reported problems obtaining enough of two of the three drugs. Kent Community Health NHS Trust ran short of all three. The duration varied. York and Scarborough NHS Trust reported disruption to co-codamol supplies since May 2025. Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust reported difficulty obtaining enough co-codamol during the 10 months between October 2025 and August 2026. Frimley Health NHS Trust paid higher prices for ramipril to ensure uninterrupted supply.
NHS England has given drug shortages a score of 16 out of 25 on its risk assessment scale, a system that ranks how likely a risk is and how serious the impact would be.
The hospital data follows earlier warnings from primary care and pharmacy. On 18 June 2026, pharmacists and GPs said NHS patients faced the worst drug shortages on record, citing common painkillers, epilepsy drugs and HRT. The Guardian A Royal Pharmaceutical Society report in March 2026 had already noted significant shortages including aspirin and co-codamol.
For ramipril, formal supply management has been in place for months. A medicine supply notification and a serious shortage protocol were issued in April 2026 for ramipril 1.25mg capsules. A shortage protocol is official guidance that allows pharmacists to supply a different strength or form without a new prescription. That advice remains live on the NHS medicines supply tool. Ramipril 1.25mg, 2.5mg, 5mg and 10mg tablets remain available but cannot support an uplift in demand. The Pharmacist UK supplies are expected to remain restricted until at least the end of October 2026. Daily Record
Other regulatory records add detail. Crescent Pharma Limited initiated a precautionary recall of one batch of Ramipril 2.5 mg Capsules. The MHRA, the UK medicines regulator, published a Safety Roundup for June 2026 summarising letters, medicine recalls and device notifications sent to healthcare professionals that month. NHS Lanarkshire medicines shortages guidance lists a shortage of Ramipril 1.25mg, 2.5mg, 5mg and 10mg capsules published in January 2026, with status changed from unavailable to discontinuation.
The broader context here is procurement under constraint. Hospital trusts are reporting months-long gaps for low-cost, high-volume generics, not only for newer or specialised products. Paying premiums to hold supply, as Frimley did, keeps wards stocked but shifts pressure to budgets. Extended reliance on shortage protocols and substitution keeps treatment going but adds workload for prescribers and pharmacists. For experts tracking resilience, the open questions are duration, geographic spread beyond the 60 respondents, and whether restrictions scheduled to ease in late October do so without a further demand surge.
