Brexit 'certain' to put health and social care at risk in West Dunbartonshire

According to a new draft risk register, which will go before the council’s health and social care partnership (HSCP) at its next meeting, the UK leaving the EU is “certain” to have a “critical” impact on healthcare.

The register grades possible risks in its yearly report, which is scrutinised by the HSCP audit committee before being presented to the board.

According to the register: “Risks across services from Brexit include difficulty in resourcing some medications, medical devices (instruments and equipment in hospital) and clinical consumables including disposable and short life goods.”

The report also claimed that services could be undermanned due to a lack of non-British workers, adding: “There will be an impact on patients and service users and on recruitment of and retention of non-UK EU nationals given that EU citizens require to apply for settled status before June 30, 2021.”

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The costs of prescriptions and the procurement of medications will also be at risk.

The register grades each risk on a scale depending on their likelihood and impact.

The risk of Brexit is described as being “certain”, and will have a “critical” impact on the work of the HSCP.

The register also lists a number of efforts being made to mitigate the problem.

To counter the effects, the officers propose to create a register of staff who may be affected, as well as the continued actioning of advice issued by the Scottish Government.

To overcome the medication issues, the council plans to “work with independent contractors to ensure effective systems of demand management for medications and support in light of changes of supply chains”.