Brexit 'information vacuum' fuelling NHS drug shortages, trust bosses warn

Hospitals are already facing drugs shortages as a consequence of Brexit, with an 'information vacuum' hampering their ability to plan for no deal, NHS trust leaders have warned. One hospital chief executive said they are currently unable to source more than 160 medicines on a daily basis, an increase from about 30 in normal circumstances. Other chief executives said Brexit had already had a negative impact on staffing, with EU nurses and doctors leaving the service, and poses a threat to future vaccination programmes and the maintenance of hospital infrastructure. All complained of a lack of meaningful guidance from NHS England to local hospital trusts, describing planning as 'high-level and sketchy' and 'like navigating through treacle'