“I welcome today’s opportunity to discuss the many issues facing health and social care that Brexit will bring. This meeting, which I have been calling for since the autumn, is long overdue. The UK government has finally come to the table at Ministerial level to discuss these vital issues. If the UK leaves the EU we all have a responsibility to put the interests of people in each of our countries before politics.
We reviewed the steps which are being taken across the UK to try to ensure the continuity of supply of medicines and medical equipment, workforce, resilience and emergency response and reciprocal healthcare agreements. There are plans in place across all four nations, as well as shared arrangements at UK level. It is important all four administrations continue to meet and discuss these plans regularly from now, no matter what happens over the next few months.
Many of the steps now being taken to prepare for a no deal Brexit could and should have been avoided if the UK Government had been able to provide certainty on our future with Europe in good time. It is more important than ever that the UK parliament and the UK government finally rule out a no deal Brexit. A failure to do so this week risks causing real and lasting health and wellbeing consequences for individuals, families and communities across the UK.”