- August 18, 2026
August 18 2026, Author: Tanya Khurana, Marketing and Comms – OPS | 15 mins est
Medicine shortages continue to be a challenge for NHS pharmacy and procurement teams.
For healthcare teams, the impact can be immediate. When a medicine is affected by a shortage, pharmacy and procurement colleagues may need to understand the supply position, manage available stock, follow national or regional guidance and explore appropriate alternative supply options.
But there is also a practical question worth asking:
Could the medicine still be available through another authorised supplier?
If your Trust or healthcare organisation is affected by a medicine shortage, it may be worth checking availability with Oxford Pharmacy Store (OPS).
OPS is an NHS-owned specialist pharmaceutical wholesaler supplying NHS Trusts and other healthcare providers across the UK. We hold a broad portfolio of medicines and support healthcare teams with product availability enquiries, lead-time information and appropriate alternative supply routes where available.
Medicine shortages remain a challenge for the NHS
Medicine supply issues can happen for many reasons.
The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) describes the UK medicines supply chain as complex, highly regulated and global. Disruption can occur at different stages, from the availability of raw materials and packaging through to manufacturing, regulatory compliance, certification and final distribution.
DHSC has overall responsibility for helping to ensure continuity of medicines supply for NHS services in England, while NHS England’s Medicines Procurement and Supply Chain team has specific responsibilities for continuity of supply for secondary care medicines.
When a medicine shortage is reported, DHSC and NHS England work with manufacturers, wholesalers and other partners across the supply chain to assess the impact and determine appropriate action.
The NHS Specialist Pharmacy Service (SPS) also describes maintaining consistent medicines supply as a persistent challenge for NHS pharmacy procurement teams, with supply disruption potentially affecting NHS services and timely access to medicines.
What should you do when a medicine is affected by a shortage?
National, regional and local shortage guidance should always remain the starting point.
Healthcare professionals can access information about current supply issues and recommended actions through resources including Medicine Supply Notifications (MSNs) and the NHS Medicines Supply Tool hosted by SPS.
Depending on the shortage, this information may include expected resolution dates, available alternatives and recommended actions for healthcare professionals.
Trusts should continue to follow the relevant guidance and their established medicines procurement and shortage-management processes.
Alongside this, pharmacy and procurement teams may also need to establish what stock is available through their existing and other appropriate authorised supply routes.
Could another supplier have stock available?
Potentially.
A medicine being affected by a shortage does not necessarily mean that every authorised wholesaler or supply route will have exactly the same stock position at the same time.
Depending on the nature and stage of the shortage, some stock may remain within the supply chain or be available through other appropriate routes.
This is why, when your usual supply route is affected, checking availability with OPS may be worthwhile.
OPS holds and distributes medicines for NHS Trusts, hospitals and other healthcare providers across the UK.
Our team can check current OPS availability and provide information about relevant lead times and supply routes where available and appropriate.
Stock positions can change quickly and availability cannot be guaranteed, but if your Trust is experiencing difficulty obtaining a medicine affected by a shortage, speak to us and we can check whether OPS can support your requirement.
How OPS can support during medicine supply shortages
OPS works with pharmaceutical manufacturers, NHS Pharmacy Manufacturing Units, commercial suppliers and NHS partners to support medicines supply across secondary care.
We monitor supply challenges, customer demand and product availability across relevant product lines.
Where appropriate, our team can support healthcare providers with:
- checking current product availability through OPS
- stock and lead-time information
- ordering support
- selected alternative supply routes where available
- specialist medicines
- licensed branded and generic medicines
- selected unlicensed medicines and specials
- selected aseptic and ready-to-administer products
Every shortage and every product is different, so availability will always depend on the individual medicine, strength, presentation, quantity required and current supply position.
OPS cannot guarantee supply of every medicine affected by a shortage.
But we may hold stock of selected products, which is why checking with our team can provide an additional option when your usual supply route is affected.
How to check medicine availability with OPS
Search the OPS product catalogue
The OPS website provides access to our pharmaceutical product catalogue.
Search using the medicine or product name to see whether it forms part of the OPS portfolio.
Can’t find the medicine you’re looking for?
Not finding a product online does not necessarily mean we cannot help with your enquiry.
Our Customer Services team can check the requirement and advise on current availability, lead times and available ordering routes.
When contacting us, please provide as much information as possible, including:
- medicine or product name
- strength
- formulation or presentation
- pack size
- quantity required
- required delivery timeframe, where relevant
This helps our team check your requirement more efficiently.
Speak to OPS if a medicine shortage is affecting your Trust
Medicine shortages are complex and there will not always be an alternative source of supply.
However, when a shortage is affecting your organisation, it can be useful to understand what stock and appropriate supply routes remain available.
If your usual supplier is unable to fulfil your requirement, check whether OPS can help.
Search our product range online or contact the OPS Customer Services team to check current product availability.
Product availability and orders: mailto:ops.orders@oxfordhealth.nhs.uk
Customer Services: 01865 904 141
EDI Supplier ID: 11984
OPS aims to provide next-working-day delivery for orders received by 2pm, where possible and subject to product availability, applicable delivery schedules and ordering requirements.
Product availability is subject to change. OPS cannot guarantee supply of products affected by national or local shortages. Healthcare professionals should continue to follow relevant DHSC, NHS England, SPS, regional procurement and local guidance when managing medicine supply issues.
References and further information
– Department of Health and Social Care. Medicine supply management. GOV.UK. Published 7 April 2026.
– Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England. Managing a robust and resilient supply of medicines. GOV.UK. Published 11 August 2025.
– Department of Health and Social Care. Medicine supply disruption statistics, UK: data to June 2026. Official statistics, 2026.
– NHS Specialist Pharmacy Service. Navigating medicine supply issues in secondary care. 2025.
– NHS Specialist Pharmacy Service. Procurement of medicines and services for NHS secondary care. Updated February 2026.
– Oxford Pharmacy Store. Specialist Pharmaceutical Wholesale FAQs.
– Oxford Pharmacy Store. OPS Product Range.
– Oxford Pharmacy Store. How to Order from OPS.
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