Brexit could increase risk from global pandemics

The Brexit Health Alliance has warned that tackling global outbreaks could become more difficult if the UK loses access to the EU’s early warning system for cross border threats and does not find an effective replacement.

Led by the NHS Confederation, the alliance is warning that public health is at risk in a number of areas if health is not made a priority in the forthcoming negotiations with the EU. In a new report, Prioritising health in our future relationship with the EU, the group highlights why health must be a priority in the limited timescale for the negotiations.

Alongside the report, the Brexit Health Alliance is calling for strong and continued coordination between the UK and EU in dealing with serious cross-border public health threats, such as pandemics and infectious diseases. It suggests that if partnerships with bodies, such as the ECDC, are lost or diluted, it could weaken the UK’s response to outbreaks, like coronavirus and increase the chances of diseases spreading.

The alliance has also called for guarantees that critical medicines and medical devices will continue to be able to flow into and out of the UK and Europe, that UK and EU residents should be able to access affordable healthcare when travelling in EU member states and that there must be a continued role for the UK in Europe-wide research.

Niall Dickson, chief executive of the NHS Confederation and co-chair of the Brexit Health Alliance, said: “Infectious diseases do not respect borders and we need to tackle them together. It is in all our interests to maintain these vital links between the UK and the EU not least because working together we are more likely to trace and tackle serious outbreaks effectively. Our worry is that all sides in these negotiations are under massive time pressures to agree a future trade deal and so there is a risk that the safety and health of patients and citizens across Europe could be overlooked.

“There is no reason why leaving the EU should mean that the UK and the EU cannot maintain existing arrangements but if we are to achieve this health has to be seen as a priority, alongside business, in the negotiations. We would also like to see early agreements to protect patient safety, give citizens rights to healthcare, provide access to medicines and support medical research.”