Stop Brexit if supplies of vital medication can't be guaranteed.

The Chair of the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency, said officials must ensure drugs don’t run out if there’s no Brexit deal. The Government is stockpiling medicines. This is not acceptable. Patients with long-term conditions need medication immediately or they could die.

We can't wait. Our supply of vital meds MUST be guaranteed. Some patients with long-term conditions need medication immediately or they could die. We can't wait. Our supply of vital meds MUST be guaranteed. Diabetic-ketoacidosis has to be treated IMMEDIATELY with INSULIN otherwise the patient could DIE. This is just one example. Diabetes is the tip of the iceberg. Many other patients, asthmatics, for example, rely on life-saving medication imported from the EU. They can't wait whilst it's stuck at the port.

The UK will be leaving the EU in March 2019. Given this the Government is working with key stakeholders to ensure the supply of critical medicines, so patients continue to receive high standards of care.

On issues of patient safety and public health the UK will be, as it always has been, a willing and reliable partner for Europe. It is in all our interests to ensure a continued and undisrupted supply of medicine to the UK and safeguarding patients’ interests for all scenarios.

The UK will be leaving the EU on 29 March 2019. Delivering the settlement negotiated with the EU remains our top priority and is the best way of avoiding a no deal scenario. However, until MPs have voted to approve the Withdrawal Agreement, we will continue to do the responsible thing and prepare proportionately for every eventuality, including a ‘no deal’ scenario.

In August 2018, the Department wrote to all pharmaceutical companies that supply prescription only medicines and pharmacy medicines to the UK that come from, or via, the European Union (EU) or European Economic Area (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.

Since then we have received very good engagement from industry who share our aims of ensuring continuity of medicines supply 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.

The six-week stockpiling activities still remain a critical part of our contingency plans, however this is now being supplemented with additional actions to reflect the updated border disruption assumptions.