Kent Community Health Trust, in the south-east of England, has revealed some of its contingency plans for health services in the event of a no-deal Brexit.
The plans revolve primarily around the travel disruption that could be caused around the Channel ports if Britain leaves the EU with no-deal. The plans involve the possibility of asking staff to sleep at work so that health services can continue to be provided in the face of travel disruption.
The Kent Community Health Trust along with East Kent Hospitals University Trust are likely to be the most disrupted by any major travel delays, with the latter’s trauma unit being just minutes from the M26, a key route to Dover.
Any transport gridlock will delay the delivery of medicine and equipment, ultimately risking patient safety.
The trust is concerned that disruption could last up to six months. The report warns:
“The potential impact of Brexit on Kent’s roads could be significant. The police are planning for between three and six months of disruption to Kent roads.”
The plans include staff sleeping at hospitals, nursing homes or clinics to ensure continuity of patient care in the county, staff working nearer to their homes and the use of the voluntary sector.
Chief executive Paul Bentley said: “We have a duty to make sure we are always able to look after our patients and deliver high quality services, as well as making sure our staff are able to provide that care.”
This recent news is just the latest released regarding non-deal brexit planning for the NHS in. At the end of 2018, an NHS troubleshooting team was set up to make plans for the health service leading up to the 29 March deadline for leaving the EU.
The team had initially been made up of 10 staff but now has 150-200, according to Matthew Swindells, NHS England’s deputy chief executive.
According to the HSJ, NHS England is touring NHS trusts talking to NHS providers and professional bodies to make sure they know what plans are in place and everyone is geared up to deal with [Brexit].”
Moreover, the health secretary Matt Hancock has disclosed plans for special flights to be chartered from the Netherlands to the UK to bring in medicines. Moreover, he urged NHS hospitals and trusts to buy fridges so that drugs could be stockpiled if necessary.
However, the reports into planning for a no-deal brexit from individual trusts sound far from positive: London North West University Hospitals Trusts, which runs three major hospitals, warned that its pharmacy departments could be at an “increased risk of burglary”; Dr David Rosser of University Hospitals Birmingham (UHB) said that, despite NHS stockpiling, shortages would likely occur due to “unprecedented” distribution challenges; and Guy’s and St Thomas’ Foundation Trust has a group considering which patients will be at the front of the queue for treatment if a disorderly Brexit causes drugs to run short.
The Evening Standard reported that Professor Marcel Levi, of University College London Hospitals, told a UCLH board meeting that communications from NHS England were now “almost daily” and “are very close to panic.”
The doctor’s union the BMA, has been very concerned about the impact of Brexit on the NHS for some time and has produced a series of briefing papers. These outline the many positives of EU membership and the risks on leaving the EU.
The BMA notes “Any form of Brexit could have wide ranging, and damaging consequences for health services across the UK and Europe, including on workforce and immigration, Northern Ireland, access to medicines, reciprocal health care, professional qualifications and patient safety, access to medical radioisotopes, medical research and rare diseases.”
Dear Reader,
If you like our content please support our campaigning journalism to protect health care for all.
Our goal is to inform people, hold our politicians to account and help to build change through evidence based ideas.
Everyone should have access to comprehensive healthcare, but our NHS needs support. You can help us to continue to counter bad policy, battle neglect of the NHS and correct dangerous mis-infomation.
Supporters of the NHS are crucial in sustaining our health service and with your help we will be able to engage more people in securing its future.
Please donate to help support our campaigning NHS research and journalism.
Comments are closed.