A joint letter from Scotland’s Chief Medical Officer and the Chief Pharmaceutical Officer has been issued to health and social care professionals providing them with further advice on ensuring medicine supplies in the event of a ‘no deal’ Brexit.
If the UK leaves the EU without a deal, new controls on the entry of goods from the EU into the UK will need to be introduced. This is likely to cause delays at ports of entry and a slow-down in the flow of medicines and medicine supplies into the UK.
The letter outlines what steps are being taken in Scotland to ensure continuity of supply of medicines and medical devices and to support prescribers if shortages arise.
Commenting on the letter, Health Secretary Jeanne Freeman said: “Brexit is a crisis created by the UK Government, made worse by their refusal to rule out a disastrous ‘no deal’ exit. The reality is the supply of medicines and medical devices to Scotland will be impacted if the UK leaves the EU without a deal, meaning there is a risk of shortages.
“As a responsible government we are doing all we can to prepare as much as possible for the consequences of ‘no deal’. The joint letter from our Chief Medical Officer and Chief Pharmaceutical Officer sets out clearly what preparations have been made to mitigate as best we can and provides our health and social care professionals with as much reassurance as possible.
“If the UK leaves the EU without a deal and some shortages occur, the NHS will manage the situation and, if necessary, provide advice on suitable alternatives or other treatment options while supply is restored to normal levels.”
Letter from the Chief Medical Officer and the Chief Pharmaceutical Officer
Information on the mygov.scot/eu-exit website is also available.
Back in August, the UK Government announced that the Department of Health and Social Care was to strengthen its Brexit preparations with a £25 million contract to set up an express freight service to deliver medicines and medical products into the country.
The department is leading a procurement exercise for an express freight service as part of the government’s plans to support continuity of supply when the UK leaves the EU on 31 October.
The service is intended to deliver small parcels of medicines or medical products on a 24-hour basis, with additional provision to move larger pallet quantities on a 2- to 4-day basis. The service will be available to the whole of the UK.
While the majority of goods will be standard medicines and medical products, the express freight service can also deliver temperature-controlled products if needed.
The contract will run for 12 months, with a possible further 12-month extension.
The service will provide an additional level of contingency as part of necessary preparations to leave the EU on 31 October whatever the circumstances, supported by an additional £2 billion from the Treasury across government.
This money includes £434 million to help ensure continuity of vital medicines and medical products through freight capacity, warehousing and stockpiling.
The new service will support existing plans already in place, including:
- building buffer stocks of medicines and medical products
- changing or clarifying regulatory requirements so that companies can continue to sell their products in the UK if we have no deal
- strengthening the process and resources used to deal with shortages
procuring additional warehouse capacity - supporting companies to improve the readiness of their logistics and supply chains to meet the new customs and border requirements for both import and export.
UK Health Minister Chris Skidmore MP said on 15 August: “I want to ensure that when we leave the EU at the end of October, all appropriate steps have been taken to ensure frontline services are fully prepared.
“That’s why we are stepping up preparations and strengthening our already extremely resilient contingency plans.
“This express freight service sends a clear message to the public that our plans should ensure supply of medical goods remains uninterrupted as we leave the EU.”