NHS fears hit from staff shortages and reduced access to medical products
Brexit poses a “very high risk” of disrupting NHS services, a health board has warned, with others voicing concerns over the impact on staffing from leaving the EU.
NHS Lanarkshire said there was it risk it “will not be in full operational readiness for EU withdrawal”.
Health boards are also unsure of their ability to secure nuclear isotopes for cancer treatment, blood products and specialists medicines from Europe.
An investigation by the BBC, which used freedom of information legislation to secure planning documents for Brexit, uncovered a long list of worries and varying levels of preparedness among health boards.
Staffing was listed by a number of health boards as their leading concern, with
NHS Orkney warning that a “large proportion” of its doctors were EU nationals.
It added that it had seen a “dramatic reduction” in the number of applications for vacancies from the EU.
NHS Lothian voiced fears that many of its European employees could leave the UK after Brexit.
Around 17,000 EU citizens work in health and social care in Scotland.
NHS Tayside has written to ministers about its ability to access expertise through networks of specialist physicians, warning that could cause a “delay in some patients’ access to the best possible clinical knowledge and expertise for their condition”.
And NHS Lanarkshire made clear that Brexit had the “potential to adversely disrupt continuity of delivery of healthcare services”, raising its risk assessment level from “high” to “very high” this summer.
NHS National Services Scotland (NSS) said withdrawal from the European Blood Alliance (EBA) could result in “loss of early visibility on emerging infectious diseases”.
The responses have also raised questions about the preparedness of some health boards, with NHS Western Isles saying it was “now starting” assessment of Brexit risks in August.
The BBC’S report suggests confusion about where responsibility for Brexit planning lies, with NHS Forth Valley saying work was being “co-ordinated nationally by the Scottish government”, while NHS Borders said “the general thrust is clearly that NHS boards are expected to lead on the preparations”.
NHS Lothian complained there had been “very little guidance” from the Scottish Government.
Scottish Liberal Democrat health spokesperson Alex Cole-hamilton MSP described the findings as “an absolutely desperate outlook for our hard-working health professionals”.
Scottish health secretary Jeane Freeman said “There are limitations on what we or even the UK government can mitigate against, given issues like mutual recognition of qualifications and lifespan limits of certain medicines.
“That is why we maintain that Scotland’s future is best served by remaining in the EU or at least in the single market and customs union.”