Doctors ‘ignore will of their patients’ with Brexit vote call
DOCTORS have been accused of ignoring the will of their patients by calling for a vote on the final Brexit deal.
Medics have called for the public to have a final vote on the deal, claiming Britain’s departure from the EU poses a ‘major threat’ to health.
They claimed Brexit could damage the NHS and patient care.
Tory Eurosceptics said they should focus on their patients and the future of the NHS rather than meddling in politics.
MP Andrew Bridgen said the motion by the British Medical Association ignored what patients had already voted for.
‘The old adage is not true - doctors don’t always know best,’ he said. ‘We’ve had a referendum, the result was clear and we haven’t implemented the results of that yet.
‘Once we’ve left, if the doctors or anyone else want to campaign to get us back in, I’ll wish them all the best but I’ll be opposing them. I think they should get on with reforming the NHS. They need to be talking about that and giving better value for money, not Brexit. They are supposed to listen to their patients and it’s what the majority of their patients voted for.’
Jacob Rees-Mogg said the vote showed doctors have no confidence in their patients. He added: ‘They are failing to trust their patients and falling into the doctor knows best trap.
The motion passed at the British Medical Association’s annual conference in Brighton called to oppose Brexit as a whole, support the UK remaining in the single market, and publicly state concerns that Brexit ‘poses a major threat to the NHS and the nation’s health’.
It also said the BMA should ‘support the idea of the public having a final say on the Brexit deal, now that more is known regarding the potential impact of Brexit on the NHS and the nation’s health’.
But Dr Robert Harwood, chairman of the BMA consultants’ committee, warned a ‘hard-edged’ political opinion on Brexit could mean the organisation was isolated from the debate.
The Royal College of Nursing and Royal College of Midwives have also recently supported calls for the public to have a final say on Brexit.
A BMA spokesman said: ‘ Doctors have made it clear that they are worried that Brexit could seriously undermine the provision of healthcare in the UK and Europe. The challenges posed by Brexit are considerable and, though there has been some progress, there is too much uncertainty around what the implications will be’
She added: ‘ Though concerns were raised prior to the Brexit vote, no-one could have imagined the extent of the complications such a result would bring.
‘However, in light of what we know now, it is imperative that the public has a say in any proposed Brexit deal.’