No-deal border chaos could last months, Hancock tells drug companies

NO-DEAL disruption at the border could last six months and result in gridlock at major ports, the Government warned as it revised its worst-case scenario plans.

Matt Hancock, the Health Secretary, last night wrote to healthcare providers and drug companies to say access via Dover and Folkestone could be restricted for much longer than originally feared. It comes as Kent County Council warned dead bodies could pile up in the event of a no-deal Brexit, with coroners struggling to collect and store them.

Mr Hancock said his department was rapidly expanding its contingency plans amid mounting opposition to Theresa May’s deal and warned that access through normal routes could be “significantly reduced... up to six months.” In order to minimise the risk of medical shortages, he confirmed that the cross-government body responsible for no-deal preparations was exploring the possibility of chartering planes to fly drugs into Britain to circumvent disruption at ports.

Lorries carrying vital supplies and short-life medicines could also be given priority over other goods to ensure they are not caught up in prolonged queues at ports such as Calais.

Meanwhile, an urgent consultation was launched this week on proposals to give pharmacists the authority to overrule GPS and ration prescriptions to avoid supplies running out.

Pharmacies would be authorised to dispense “reduced quantities” of medicine or offer alternative dosages.

In his letter to the health sector, Mr Hancock said the planning assumptions put together by the Border Deliv-

ery Group had been “revised” to factor in the implications of the EU imposing checks on goods destined for the UK.

He stressed it was based on “a worstcase scenario”, but warned that the severity of the potential disruption meant that plans to stockpile six-weeks’ worth of medicines may need to be expanded.

However, Mike Thompson, the chief executive of the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry, warned that the latest assumptions were “stark”, adding that stockpiling was “not the solution”. He said: “While we welcome the Secretary of State’s intention to prioritise the flow of medicines and vaccines, we need the detail.

“With just 16 weeks until the UK leaves the EU, we need the Government to take immediate action to open up alternative supply routes between the UK and Europe and tell companies so that they can make plans.”

‘With just 16 weeks until the UK leaves the EU, we need the Government to take immediate action’