A PHARMACIST has warned that he has run out of certain drugs, in part due to Brexit uncertainty.

Amo Sohal, owner of Kitsons Pharmacy, in Broad Street, Worcester, said suppliers’ prices for some pills have spiked in recent months, while other items are completely out of stock.

Mr Sohal’s suppliers are charging him more for many of these drugs than the NHS pays him for them, which means he is making a loss on certain items.

He added: “We took over this shop in 2016 and it’s never been as bad as this.

“We use a number of suppliers, suddenly we found that items are in short supply or the supplier suddenly just says ‘we have got no stock’.

“We have people that have been to other pharmacies coming in every day saying ‘have you got this drug in stock?’

“You can tell from their demeanour that they are desperate.”

Mr Sohal said he has run out of 500mg Naproxen pills, a powerful painkiller for back pain or musculoskeletal problems, and is low on Furosemide, a drug for heart failure and hypertension.

He added that the shop has also run out of Migraleve, a painkiller for migraines, due to a national shortage.

If someone cannot get the drug they need, they are forced to go back to their GP to get another prescription, which has a knock-on effect on the patient and the NHS, according to Mr Sohal.

The pharmacist said that in recent months the price of a pack of 28 500mg Naproxen pills has gone up from around £1.38 to £12.

He added: “You have to buy the drugs as people rely on them. But we are making a loss on a lot of things.

“We are at the mercy of the wholesalers.”

The pharmacist partly blamed Brexit uncertainty for the shortages, as a lot of drug manufacturers are based in the EU.

Mr Sohal said Naproxen is one of several drugs that he is making a loss on.

He added that the type of Naproxen he orders is not on the NHS’s ‘concession’ list, which increases the amount pharmacists can receive for drugs in short supply.

The 45-year-old added that the NHS changes the amount it pays per drug every month, however this can often be out of step with the actual prices.

He said: “I almost dread opening the payment letter from the NHS to see what the payment will be. I’m lucky if it covers the wholesale cost.”