BREXIT ‘WILL BREAK THE NHS’
Tory minister’s local hospital fear post-EU chaos
MEDICAL experts yesterday warned that Brexit “will break the NHS” – after damning impact reports emerged.
Dossiers produced by Tory Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab’s local hospital suggest the UK’s withdrawal from the EU – with or without a deal – will hit “every corner” of the health service.
The documents from Kingston Hospital in Surrey, obtained by our sister paper the Daily Mirror under freedom of information laws, cite issues including staff shortages and delays importing medicine from March next year.
They also claim vital equipment may become less accessible and computer systems could face glitches because of IT servers based in the EU.
The files suggest the quality and pricing of food supplies for patients and staff may be affected, too. And one suggests bosses do not believe Prime Minister Theresa May’s claim that the NHS will get a cash boost after Britain leaves the bloc.
Dr Clare Gerada, former chairwoman of the Royal College of General Practitioners, said: “These revelations from a hospital in the constituency of the Brexit Secretary expose how much damage Brexit threatens to do to our NHS. It looks increasingly likely that, far from helping, Brexit will break the NHS.”
Dr Andrew Dearden, of the British Medical Association, said: “It is clear from these documents Brexit could negatively affect every corner of the NHS.
“It’s a tragedy the public were led to believe figures on the side of a bus when sources are now saying there could be less money for trusts.”
Labour MP David Lammy, a champion of anti-Brexit group Best for Britain, said: “These explosive documents show why Brexit poses the greatest threat to our NHS in the modern era.
“The Brexiteers are playing a game of life and death.”
Two risk analysis files for the hospital’s executive management committee, dated March 14 and July 4, flag issues even if Britain gets a Brexit deal. A section titled Money reads: “Expectation on flow of funds into the NHS post-Brexit may be false.”
Last month, May promised a £20billion NHS boost, partfunded by “the Brexit dividend”.
Labour MP Dr Paul Williams, a member of the health select committee, said: “Many people chose to leave the EU because they thought the NHS would receive a funding boost.
“Now hospitals are preparing for a financial hit.”
Kingston Hospital NHS Foundation Trust said: “We have highlighted areas that could be affected and are working up contingency options which are still very fluid and undefined.
“Any potential risks identified are only possibilities and not definite, and are only appropriate to our trust.”