Would people really die in a no-deal Brexit?
Britain’s outgoing chief medical officer issues stark warning as exit deadline looms
A no-deal Brexit could result in patients dying for lack of medicine, the outgoing Chief Medical Officer for England has said.
In what HuffPost UK describes as “the starkest warning yet about the consequences of crashing out of the EU on 31 October”, Professor Dame Sally Davies said medical supplies could not be guaranteed if the UK fails to reach an agreement with Brussels by the end of the month.
Last week NHS Wales unveiled a so-called “Brexit Warehouse” to store about 1,000 extra products, including medical gloves, needles and dressings. However, speaking to the BBC, Davies said despite the work being done to prepare for no-deal, “we cannot guarantee that there will not be shortages, not only in medicines but technology and gadgets and things. And there may be deaths, we can’t guarantee there won’t.”
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Leaked documents from the government’s own no-deal Brexit planning, Operation Yellowhammer, revealed that the supply chains for medicines and products were “particularly vulnerable” to disruption at the Channel ports, through which roughly three-quarters of the 37 million medicine packs that arrive into the UK every month pass.
Of the 12,300 medicines currently licensed for use in the UK, around 7,000 come to Britain either from or through the EU, “with the vast majority being shipped across the Channel”, says the Daily Mirror.
Metro says “while some medicinal products can be stockpiled, those with a short shelf-life cannot”. These include insulin and cancer drugs for children, many of which need to be transported under temperature-controlled conditions, putting them at risk from protracted delays at UK ports.
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––For a round-up of the most important stories from around the world - and a concise, refreshing and balanced take on the week’s news agenda - try The Week magazine. Get your first six issues for £6–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
In August, health union leaders issued a stark warning that a no-deal Brexit could “devastate” the NHS. The Independent says the union leaders’ statement “echoes a letter written to Boris Johnson from the heads of 17 royal colleges and charities, expressing their concern at medicine shortages, which would clash with the start of winter flu season if the UK crashed out of the EU on 31 October”.
Concerns over the impact of no deal led to a Twitter campaign last month. Using the #deathbybrexit hashtag, people who rely on EU-derived medicines added a black dot to their Twitter name to show the government that lives are at risk.
Away from the immediate disruption to the medicine supply chain caused by no deal, a hard form of Brexit is likely to have serious medium and long-term consequences for the UK’s health and science sectors.
More than 62,000 NHS staff in England are EU nationals, accounting for 5.6% of staff, and “there are concerns over both recruiting and retaining staff once freedom of movement ends”, says Metro. The NHS is already short of more than 100,000 personnel, including 43,000 nurses.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
'Make legal immigration a more plausible option'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
LA-to-Las Vegas high-speed rail line breaks ground
Speed Read The railway will be ready as soon as 2028
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Israel's military intelligence chief resigns
Speed Read Maj. Gen. Aharon Haliva is the first leader to quit for failing to prevent the Hamas attack in October
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Will Aukus pact survive a second Trump presidency?
Today's Big Question US, UK and Australia seek to expand 'game-changer' defence partnership ahead of Republican's possible return to White House
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
It's the economy, Sunak: has 'Rishession' halted Tory fightback?
Today's Big Question PM's pledge to deliver economic growth is 'in tatters' as stagnation and falling living standards threaten Tory election wipeout
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Stormont power-sharing in sight: 'good news' for Northern Ireland?
Talking Point Unionists vote to end two-year boycott after agreeing legislative package to address post-Brexit trading arrangements
By The Week UK Published
-
Why your local council may be going bust
The Explainer Across England, local councils are suffering from grave financial problems
By The Week UK Published
-
Rishi Sunak and the right-wing press: heading for divorce?
Talking Point The Telegraph launches 'assault' on PM just as many Tory MPs are contemplating losing their seats
By Keumars Afifi-Sabet, The Week UK Published
-
How would a second Trump presidency affect Britain?
Today's Big Question Re-election of Republican frontrunner could threaten UK security, warns former head of secret service
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
'Rwanda plan is less a deterrent and more a bluff'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By The Week UK Published
-
How the biggest election year in history might play out
The Explainer Votes in world's biggest democracies, as well as its most 'despotic' and 'stressed' countries, face threats of violence and suppression
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published