Revealed: Hospitals face ‘severe’ shortages of medical supplies ahead of winter due to Brexit and Covid

Border issues, shipping costs, labour shortages and Covid-related backlogs all contributing

Medical supplies are the latest casualty of disruption that has left gaps on supermarket shelves and prompted panic buying at petrol stations (Getty Images)

Hospitals are experiencing shortages of essential medical equipment triggered by a combination of Brexit and the impact of the pandemic on global supply chains, The Independent can reveal.

Manufacturers and suppliers of beds, lifts and life-saving defibrillators have also warned of being under “unparalleled pressure” due to the supply chain crunch this winter. NHS England boss Amanda Pritchard has warned that the winter season was already going to be “tougher” than a summer which experienced unprecedented demand.

Medical supplies are the latest casualty of widespread disruption that has left gaps on supermarket shelves and prompted panic buying at petrol stations.