IN news which will surprise absolutely nobody, the Brexit talks are going terribly and pharmaceutical companies have been told to stockpile six week’s worth of drugs in case of disruption at the end of the transition period.
The Tory Government was warned countless times that it should not pursue Brexit as the world faces an unprecedented pandemic – but did it listen? Of course not! It never does.
While the Covid-19 crisis raged on the UK decided to put its energy into negotiating a future trade deal with the EU. Unsurprisingly, like everything else Westminster puts its efforts into, it has been a total disaster.
Now the UK faces not only a worrying second wave of Covid-19 and bleak economic prospects but, once again, a disruptive No-Deal Brexit.
READ MORE: Why Douglas Ross' 'Boris-backing, Brexit-positive, anti-nat' ploy will fail
There are concerns that the coronavirus pandemic has led to dwindling medical stocks – now a disorderly exit from the EU with no trade agreement in place could cause significant disruption.
As it emerged the Department of Health and Social Care had told medicine suppliers to ensure their focus is on boosting reserves ahead of the December 31 deadline, The Jouker got nostalgic about the all incredible promises Brexiteers made to the public about the future of the health service if only we were free of those unelected bureaucrats in Brussels.
Improved patient safety
On April 2, 2016, Vote Leave’s official website posted a piece titled “How the EU is threatening patient safety”.
The campaign claimed that single market legislation meant that NHS patients’ safety was at risk. They complained that “systematic checks on whether EU doctors can speak English” remained illegal, and that the bloc’s law requires the UK to recognise qualifications of doctors trained in other EU states.
This week, though, the British Medical Association warned that the prospects of a No-Deal on the NHS is “incredibly concerning”.
They said: “The BMA has consistently warned that a No-Deal Brexit could have a potentially devastating impact on the NHS and consequently the health of the nation.
“Now, more than ever, it is absolutely crucial that the government secure a relationship that protects the future health of this country.”
The chair of the Health and Social Care Committee warned in 2018 that the UK and EU should prioritise patient safety in the Brexit talks.
So far there seems to be little evidence that patient safety will miraculously improve thanks to Brexit.
Unleashing NHS from EU “control”
Vote Leave claimed in a briefing on its website that the EU had “taken control” of the health service and that it was harming it.
They claimed that freedom of movement was putting huge pressure on local hospitals which was “dangerous”. They claimed EU-led privatisation could lead “to the demise of the publicly-funded National Health Service”.
Of course they failed to mention that a number of senior Tories and Brexiteers are very much for privatising the NHS, or that Tory austerity over the last 10 years has damaged the health service significantly.
The NHS doesn’t need to be freed from EU control. It needs to be freed of Tory control.
“We send the EU £350 million a week, let’s fund our NHS instead”
In a “clear misuse of official statistics”, according to Full Fact, Boris Johnson claimed that once we have left the EU we will “take back control of roughly £350 million per week” which could be given to the NHS.
However Full Fact found we never paid, or owed, the bloc this amount per week.
Now the Tory Government has hinted at austerity in the future following the Covid-19 pandemic despite grand claims of 40 new hospitals to be built.
With the economic fall out of coronavirus plus a likely No-Deal, do you think we’ll be seeing that £350m a week any time soon?
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