BREXIT: Council chiefs keep eye on medical supplies

Council chiefs warn a no deal Brexit represents a significant risk to the NHS and to the care sector, with 75 per cent of the UK’s medicine supplies coming from or via the EU.

Eugene Walker, executive director of resources, told a scrutiny meeting medical supplies were being dealt with nationally by NHS England.

“Our director of Public Health Greg Fell is working with colleagues who have arrangements with local pharmacies,” he said.

“There’s a delicate balance, trying to work out where we might get early warnings of issues without causing people to worry.

“We are told that everything is ok. We are not part of the decision process. We have a few local concerns and Greg Fell has a regular Brexit meeting with NHS colleagues.

“We can’t affect that supply chain but we are hoping to put some arrangements in place with local pharmacies to check if there is an early warning in place if there is a problem. This is about us picking up evidence where there are issues so we can flag them back.

“We don’t have a part in ensuring medical supply chains. It’s about trying to influence those supply chains, reassuring people and lobbying back to Government where we identify issues and gaps.”

In a report, Mr Walker says in the event of a no-deal Brexit, the Department of Health would be ‘working in a highly uncertain environment’ and operating all the elements of its national strategy would be ‘a hugely demanding task’.