THE Scottish Government has labelled Brexit the number one threat to the NHS after the head of the service in England said he was planning for disruptions to medical supplies.
Simon Stevens, the chief executive of NHS England, said there was “significant planning” underway in case the UK crashed out of EU next year in a chaotic ‘no deal’ Brexit.
Last month a leaked UK government analysis warned of national shortages of food, fuel and medicine within days of a no-deal Brexit that lead to a breakdown in supply chains and gridlock at the ports, with the worst case scenario dubbed “Armageddon”.
- READ MORE: MSPs demand end to NHS secrecy culture
The plan suggested the government might have to charter planes to fly in medicines.
Around 37m packs of medicine currently come into the UK from Europe every month.
Last year, Mr Stevens revealed there was no contingency planning within the NHS for no-deal, a situation Labour said was “grossly irresponsible.”
Asked on BBC One’s Andrew Marr Show if that was still the case, Mr Stevens said the situation had changed markedly, with a focus on continuity of drugs and medical kit.
He said: “The thing that we need in this country, at the top of the list, has got to be those medical supplies.
“There’s extensive work underway now between the Department of Health, other parts of government, the life sciences industry, the pharma companies.
"No nobody’s pretending this is a desirable situation but if that’s where we get to then it will not have been unforeseen.”
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “Brexit is the number one threat to our health service. There are concerns around the nature of trade deals and how they may impact our NHS, while there is also a huge challenge when it comes to the free movement of workers and ensuring our health service is still able to attract staff from EU nations and beyond.
- READ MORE: MSPs demand end to NHS secrecy culture
“It is deeply concerning that there are now also concerns about access to medicines - but that is a direct consequence of the UK Government’s negotiating stance and the threat it has raised in terms of a no-deal scenario. We continue to engage with the UK Government about preparations for Brexit – but that is made difficult when the UK Government is unable, even at this late stage, to answer basic questions.
“All these difficulties would be reduced if the UK Government abandoned its plans for a hard Brexit and committed to staying inside the Single Market and Customs Union.”
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