Tag Archives: medicines

No deal Brexit causing panic for people with diabetes

By The Voice | Thu 14th February 2019 - 8:00 am

Our Lib Dem MP for Edinburgh West, Christine Jardine, wrote passionately in August about the worry facing many about provision of life-saving medicines in the case of a hard Brexit.

Today she has backed charities’ calls for the Government to provide urgent information on how supplies of life saving drugs, like insulin, will be safeguarded if the UK crashes out of the EU.

Christine says:

This goes far beyond politics. This is about people’s lives.

It is unimaginable that this Tory Government is prepared to let people suffer the anxiety of not knowing how or even whether they will be able to get the medicines they need.

Posted in News | Also tagged brexit and no deal | 38 Comments

Dutch health & pharmacy sector scrambles: delivery of 50 vitally crucial medicines and appliances threatened by a No Deal Brexit

By Bernard Aris | Sat 9th February 2019 - 8:55 am

People who know about the world market for medical supplies and medicines, basic human necessities in any civilized society, can only agree with Donald Tusk that many bullhorning Brexiteers never did have a clue how to safely execute Brexit in all its aspects and consequences.

In her article of 31^st January, Caron Lindsay pointed to the growing insecurity around the delivery to British patients and the NHS generally of medicines etcetera imported from the continental EU. But it also disrupts patient security on the continent, and in the Netherlands in a life-threatening way.

On Wednesday 6^th February, the Dutch parliament received the second alarming letter in a month from the relevant health minister, Bruno Bruins about the supply of medicines and appliances like pacemakers certified (for EU use) in the UK. I’m using news items from NOS, our BBC, because it is the headline in all public radio and tv news bulletins today.

A month ago Mr Bruins wrote to parliament, saying that the Netherlands imports around a third (value: 2 billion euros/year from a total of 6,6 billion/year) of all its medicines and appliances from or via the UK; part of those imports are re-exported onwards. NOS quotes him writing that British medical imports are 2700 products (UK being a very big international player) and that Dutch doctors and hospitals use intermediaries and not always are sure where those products come from. He’s asked everybody in the Dutch health system to check where every product comes from and where it was certified for the EU market. If possible, UK producers or providers should be asked to transfer CE certification to the continent, Mr. Bruins wrote to buyers in the Dutch medical sector.