members.tortoisemedia.com/2019/11/28/the-great-hrt-scandal/content.html?sig=Z7V8nuuP3aHGHU7BUVMJcGeYzW1L2GWk9SkQsqiAZZ0
'Pharmacists familiar with the NHS’s drug tariff agree that the change in the drugs tariff is the best explanation they’ve seen for the UK’s HRT shortages. Patel said: “Yes. The likeliest explanation for the drug shortage is adding the drug to Category C designed to manage NHS costs. The inadvertent effect of the transfer to category C is shortages in supply which have caused avoidable additional work in pharmacies and deep concerns and frustration to patients. The demand for the drug… is unsatisfied due to NHS pricing policies.”
Leanne Sinclair, clinical pharmacist at The Independent Pharmacy, said: “The beginning of the HRT shortages appears to coincide with the change in the reimbursement mechanism of certain medicines within this category. A combination of the new fixed-pricing system and the falling value of the pound may mean that the UK is a less valuable market for manufacturers to allocate stock, leading to shortages.”'