Britain is facing a severe shortage of branded medicines and the problem has become much worse in the previous year as per a warning.

Drugs which were intended for patients in the UK are being exported for sale abroad to take advantage of exchange rates and there have been issues with pharmaceutical company quota systems.

Patients have been left facing long waits before they can get any branded medicines. The Chemist and Druggist Stock Survey 2010 found more than 80 percent of pharmacists think that getting hold of branded medicines is tougher than ever before.

As many as 90 percent pharmacists spent more than an hour per week trying to source key medicines and most of them were braced for worse in 2011 because 60 percent predicted huge shortages.

The most difficult of obtain drugs are Parkinson’s drug Sinemet, breast cancer drug Femera, schizophrenia medicine Zyprexa and the anti-depressant Cipralexare.

The Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry called for urgent government action to stop the sale of medicines overseas which is affecting British patients.