Asked by: Lord Hunt of Chesterton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure (1) UK residents, and (2) medical organisations are aware of the guidance that has been issued on access to medicine in the case of a no-deal Brexit.
Answered by Baroness Blackwood of North Oxford
The Department has been working closely with the National Health Service, pharmaceutical companies and others in supply chains to make sure medicines continue to be available for the NHS, if the United Kingdom leaves the European Union without a deal.
The Department and NHS England published guidance on their websites for patients, including the online only policy paper, Getting Medication, on 18 January 2019. We have also been engaging with patient groups, trade associations and health care providers about messaging regarding access to medicines in a ‘no deal’ scenario.
The Department has issued guidance to all NHS trusts, pharmacies and general practices informing them of the Government’s plans for ensuring continuity of supply of medicines and advising them that they can expect to be able to continue accessing medicines through their existing supply routes in the event of a ‘no deal’ EU exit on 29 March. This guidance explained how hospitals, general practitioners and community pharmacies throughout the UK do not need to take any steps to stockpile additional medicines, beyond their business as usual stock levels. There is also no need for clinicians to write NHS prescriptions for larger quantities of medicines than usual. A copy of the Department’s letter of 7 December 2018 to the NHS in England is attached.
Asked by: Lord Hunt of Chesterton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what advice they are providing to (1) UK and (2) non-UK residents who are planning to travel between the UK and the EU after 29 March 2019; and what steps they are taking to publicise such advice.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
For UK citizens, we are providing information on travelling to the EU after exit. All information is available online on the Government's dedicated website: gov.uk/euexit.
We keep our travel advice pages up-to-date with the latest information about individual countries. People can subscribe to these pages to be kept informed about any changes. We are also providing information to UK passport holders regarding the potential change in validity rules to the Schengen zone in a no deal scenario. People are encouraged to check their passport's validity using a free checker tool on the gov.uk website. Information for EU citizens in the UK is also available on gov.uk/euexit.
A campaign and extensive engagement is underway to give people the information they need. We are engaging extensively with stakeholders to distribute travel advice through their customer communication channels.
Asked by: Lord Hunt of Chesterton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether, and if so how, they will maintain the use of (1) handicrafts, and (2) gardening as occupational therapy interventions for patients recovering from treatment in NHS England hospitals.
Answered by Baroness Blackwood of North Oxford
Therapeutic interventions and group programmes for rehabilitation are expected features of rehabilitation for both mental health and physical conditions – handicrafts, as a therapeutic intervention to improve fine coordination, and gardening, and other patient appropriate activity, are recommended by both the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence and the Royal College of Occupational Therapists.
Although the two interventions are not specifically held above others in recovery, handicrafts and gardening are commonly used in therapeutic programmes funded by the National Health Service.
Asked by: Lord Hunt of Chesterton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what advice they are providing to (1) UK residents, and (2) medical organisations about how to access medicines from the EU in the UK.
Answered by Baroness Blackwood of North Oxford
It is a priority of the Department to ensure patients continue to have access to medicines as we leave the European Union, in all exit scenarios.
While a Withdrawal Agreement has been agreed between Government and the European Commission, as a responsible Government, we continue to prepare proportionately for all scenarios, including the outcome that we leave the European Union without a deal in March 2019.
The Department has issued guidance on 7 December 2018 to all National Health Service trusts, pharmacies and general practices informing them of our plans for ensuring continuity of supply of medicines and advising them that they can expect to be able to continue accessing medicines through their existing supply routes in the event of a ‘no deal’ EU exit on 29 March 2019. This guidance explained how hospitals, general practitioners and community pharmacies throughout the UK do not need to take any steps to stockpile additional medicines, beyond their business as usual stock levels. There is also no need for clinicians to write longer NHS prescriptions. A copy of the Department’s letter of 7 December to the NHS in England is attached.
NHS England and the devolved administrations have also communicated similar messages to the front line and patients have also been advised not to stockpile medicines. Unnecessary local stockpiling would increase pressure on the medicines supply chain and could lead to avoidable shortages and subsequent risks to patients.
Asked by: Lord Hunt of Chesterton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what advice they are providing to UK residents about travelling to and from the EU and other European countries; and how they will publicise any such advice.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is providing updates on the GOV.UK website to advise travellers to the EU and other European countries on visas, passports, driving permits and more. We encourage travellers to check the latest information on GOV.UK/euexit before starting their journey and to sign up for email alerts.