Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government how they will ensure the supply of radiopharmaceuticals in the event of a no-deal Brexit; and what steps they will take to prevent delays in the treatment of patients with serious conditions.

The Department understand that diabetes medicines and medical radiopharmaceuticals are vitally important to many people in this country. Our ‘no deal’ contingency plans include mitigations for medicines that come to the United Kingdom from or via the European Union or European Economic Area (EEA), including precautionary stockpiling by suppliers and securing alternative shipping routes to ensure the flow of medicines, to ensure that the supply of diabetes medicines, medical radioisotopes and other essential medicines to patients is not disrupted.

In August 2018, the Department wrote to all pharmaceutical companies that supply prescription-only and pharmacy medicines to the UK that come from, or via, the EU/EEA asking them to ensure a minimum of six weeks’ additional supply in the UK, over and above existing business-as-usual buffer stocks, by 29 March 2019.

We recognise that certain medicines with short shelf lives, including medical radiopharmaceuticals or medical radioisotopes, cannot be reasonably stockpiled. Where these medicines are imported from the EU or EEA, we have asked that suppliers ensure that they have plans in place in advance plans to air freight these medicines from the EU in the event of a ‘no deal’ exit.

While the stockpiling medicines and alternative air freight remains a critical part of our ‘no deal’ medicine supply contingency plans, we are also supplementing these with additional actions.

We are working towards ensuring we have sufficient roll-on, roll-off freight capacity on alternative routes to enable these vital products to continue to move freely in to the UK. Medicines and medical products, including diabetes medicines, will be prioritised on these routes to ensure that the flow of all these products will continue unimpeded after 29 March 2019.

Throughout enacting our plans, we have received very good engagement from industry who share our aims of ensuring that the continuity of supply of medicines and medical products for patients is maintained and able to cope with any potential delays at the border that may arise in the short term in the event of a ‘no deal’ EU exit.