The Brexit Health Alliance has published its five priorities to safeguard the UK healthcare sector during the formal process of leaving the EU.

The alliance brings together the NHS, medical research, industry, patients and public health organisations and is working to ensure issues such as healthcare research, access to technologies and treatment of patients are given prominence in the Brexit negotiations. NHS Providers is a founding member of the Alliance. 

Its five priority areas are:

• By ensuring maximum levels of research and innovation collaboration
• Providing regulatory alignment for the benefit of patients and population health
• Preservation of reciprocal healthcare arrangements
• Robust coordination mechanisms on public health and wellbeing
• Securing a strong funding commitment to the health and public health sectors

The Alliance’s co-chair, Niall Dickson, said:

“There are great opportunities but also great dangers in these negotiations.

“Patients stand to lose out if we cannot go on collaborating in major medical research studies, if we cannot access new treatments and medical devices as we do now, and if UK nationals in the EU are no longer able to benefit from access to healthcare abroad, and vice versa. It is also vital that there is a firm commitment on all sides to joint co-ordination in response to public health threats.

“We hope that the publication of these five priority areas will help support the government to achieve the best result for patients and for healthcare across the UK.

“There is a huge amount of expertise and insight within this alliance and we urge the Government to make good use of it to help ensure healthcare does not become forgotten alongside the vast number of issues that negotiators will be addressing.”

The full list of Brexit Health Alliance founding members are:

• Academy of Medical Royal Colleges,
• Association of Medical Research Charities,
• Association of British Healthcare Industries,
• Association of British Pharmaceutical Industries,
• Association of UK University Hospitals,
• Bio Industry Association,
• Faculty of Public Health,
• Medical Schools Council,
• National Voices,
• NHS Confederation (including Mental Health Network, NHS Clinical Commissioners, NHS Employers, NHS Partners Network),
• NHS Providers,
• Northern Ireland Confederation,
• Richmond Group of Charities,
• Scottish NHS Chief Executive Group,
• Welsh NHS Confederation

The Brexit Healthcare Alliance is a separate body from the Cavendish Coalition of which NHS Providers is also a founding member. The Cavendish Coalition remains focused on addressing the potential impacts of Brexit for the health and social care workforce.