YP Letters: What will Brexit mean for co-operation on public health

From: Niall Dickson, Co-chair, Brexit Health Alliance.
What will Brexit mean in practice?What will Brexit mean in practice?
What will Brexit mean in practice?

THE ambition of the Brexit White Paper is fine – but we await the execution. Patients in the UK and Europe need to know that they will get their drugs on time, that vital medical research will not be disrupted and that they will continue to get the healthcare they need while on holiday or travelling for work.

These are not theoretical possibilities, they are real risks which can and must be resolved in the negotiations.

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We have consistently called for assurances on all these matters and we welcome the Government’s clear ambition to deal with them.

We also welcome the commitment to maintaining the highest standards of health protection after the UK leaves the EU.

Maximum co-operation to control infectious diseases and other public health threats is a ‘no brainer’.

But these are complex and wide-ranging negotiations and there is always a danger that health issues are not kept to the fore.

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We should be under no illusions of the consequences for patients if we fail to plan properly and do not reach a good agreement.

That could result in a significant threat to the health of both UK and EU citizens.

Planning is underway at the centre of Government, but it will be important for the sake of patients that NHS hospitals, clinics and community services are all prepared for every possible scenario.

From: John Turley, Dronfield Woodhouse.

SO Brexiteers are at last beginning to reveal their true colours.

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To them Brexit always was about turning Britain into a low regulation, low tax, low wage, offshore economy, and the EU’s rules and regulations relating to matters such as the environment, and employment rights, stood in their way.

They couldn’t of course have campaigned in the run-up to the EU referendum on the basis of their true agenda. Had they revealed it, they would never have won the referendum 
vote, and they instead had to pretend that it was all about securing extra spending for 
the NHS, while at the same 
time preying on voters’ fears concerning uncontrolled immigration.

The question on the ballot paper was quite simple – do 
you want remain in the EU or leave?

It didn’t say anything about scrapping all current EU rules and regulations.