No-Deal Brexit Will "Undoubtedly" Kill Someone, GP Tells Shelagh Fogarty
19 August 2019, 15:06
This GP told Shelagh Fogarty that the drug shortages caused by a no-deal Brexit will "undoubtedly" kill someone.
The leaked Operation Yellowhammer documents suggested that a no-deal Brexit would lead to shortages of food, fuel and medicines.
Nick, a GP in Hackney, called in to explain how a no-deal Brexit will affect the way he can do his job.
He told Shelagh: "What we know is really bad and we're prevented from knowing a lot of it because of the government putting gagging orders on trusts and pharmaceutical companies to prevent them from disclosing the full impact of a no-deal Brexit.
"The essential medicines that we use, things like blood thinners for people who've had strokes and heart attacks, have become unavailable. Many other medications have gone 'offline' over the last six months.
"Lots of medicines have gone off the market and lots of others will."
A number of key drugs have been stockpiled, but Nick pointed out that drugs such as insulin cannot be stored because they have a short half-life. "It goes off," he claimed, "so you need the transport."
Shelagh asked Nick a very direct question: "Hand on heart, will no deal kill someone?"
Nick's response: "Undoubtedly. I've seen people who have essential medications that they are not able to get.
"At the moment, we are able to find replacements, but there are certain drugs - radioisotopes, cancer treatments - if you don't get the treatment when you need it, those people who are seriously ill will die."
It was a fascinating insight into how a no-deal Brexit will affect the NHS. Watch it in full at the top of the page.
