By Robert Lea: For More Info, Go Here…
ngd-While the US isn’t facing a Brexit, there are many policy initiatives here that will give us “Brexit Light” if they are fully implemented, and many of the problems Brixit might bring, such as drug and other treatment shortages, are already here.
All forms of Brexit run the risk of causing significant harm to the NHS — with a No-Deal Brexit posing the worst possible scenario — according to the Lancet.
A new Health Policy review published in the Lancet has revealed that Brexit, and in particular, a No-Deal Brexit, will pose significant harm to NHS services, financing, workforce and the availability of medicines.
The paper’s authors — leading experts in health and law — also warn that there is little evidence that the NHS, or the UK in general, is prepared for the eventualities of Brexit. To support this, they cite the recently published NHS ten-year plan which ran to 136 pages and contained only two mentions of Brexit, neither of which offered any detail about what it might mean, or how any threats would be addressed.
Recruitment and retention to the health care workforce represents a major challenge post Brexit. The Withdrawal Agreement provides reciprocal arrangements and mutual recognition of professional qualifications up to 2020. But, no provisions for health care workers have been made in the Backstop or Political Declaration. Under a No-Deal Brexit, the Immigration White Paper proposes a minimum salary threshold of £30,000 per year which could seriously limit immigration of many health workers to the UK.
