Royal Pharmaceutical Society in Scotland says contingency plans do not mitigate risk of no-deal Brexit

pharmafile | July 19, 2019 | News story | Medical Communications |  RPS, brexit, no-deal Brexit, pharma, pharmaceuticals 

The Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) in Scotland has raised concerns that the Government’s contingency plans do not eliminate the risks of Brexit.

The RPS has warned that “several challenges remain” as they suggested that the Scottish and UK Government’s contingency plans do “not eliminate these risks.”

Speaking to Holyrood, Alex MacKinnon, the Director of the RPS in Scotland said: “We have sought to engage constructively with the UK Government on measures to mitigate the risks associated. However, several challenges remain.

“We understand that contingency planning by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and NHS England is in place to maintain patient access to medicines in the event of a ‘no deal’ Brexit, which includes stockpiling by manufacturers and efforts to increase freight capacity.

“However, industry bodies such as the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry, BioIndustry Association and Healthcare Distribution Association continue to raise concerns about the potential impact of a ‘no deal’ Brexit, including disruption to the supply chain, price rises and counterfeit medicines.”

However McKinnon warned that: “Despite best efforts from DHSC, the NHS and stakeholders, contingency planning does not eliminate these risks.”

McKinnon also called on patients not to stockpile drugs as he suggested that doing so would “only exacerbate the very problem we are trying to avoid.”

“Manufacturers have contingency plans in place and will build up stockpiles of medicines in preparation for our exit from Europe,” McKinnon added.

Louis Goss