The Impact of Brexit on Healthcare Organizations in the UK

This report delves into the multifaceted implications of Brexit on UK healthcare organizations. It meticulously examines the challenges posed by the Brexit deal, particularly focusing on the procurement of healthcare equipment, skilled healthcare professionals, and essential medicines. The report highlights the over-reliance of UK healthcare on EU member nations for these critical resources and analyzes the resulting supply chain disruptions. Furthermore, it explores the measures adopted by healthcare organizations, such as the National Health Service (NHS), to mitigate these challenges, including increased investment in research and development, efforts to manufacture equipment domestically, advanced training for healthcare professionals, and sourcing resources from alternative international markets. The report also discusses the role of pharmaceutical industries and government initiatives in addressing the challenges and ensuring the continued provision of healthcare services. The report underscores the need for strategic planning and proactive measures to navigate the evolving landscape of the healthcare sector in the wake of Brexit.

Running head: BREXIT AND ITS IMPLICATIONS FOR HEALTHCARE ORGANIZATIONS
BREXIT AND ITS IMPLICATIONS FOR THE HEALTHCARE ORGANIZATIONS
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1BREXIT AND ITS IMPLICATIONS FOR HEALTHCARE ORGANIZATIONS
Introduction
As stated by Waters (2019), the European Union (EU) was formed through the “Treaty of
Paris” (1951) and the “Treaty of Rome” (1957) and formally there are 28 European nations
which are a part of a same. Rogers et al. (2018) are of the viewpoint that the primary objective
behind the formation of this union was to facilitate the development of trade and commerce
among the member nations of the concerned union so as to bring about their economic
development. This had actually helped in the economic growth or the development of the
different member nations of the EU and it is seen that the EU is presently the 2nd largest
economic bloc of the world with net revenue of more than $20.366 trillion (2019) which is
second only to USA (Europa.eu 2020). However, on June 2016, the nation of UK conducted a
public voting wherein 17.4 million people (52%) opted to exit the EU and thereby the UK
government decided to leave the EU because of which the Brexit deal was formulated (Dayan
2017).
In this relation, it needs to be said that on the score of the Brexit deal, the UK and its
corporations would not be able to enjoy the benefits like free trade, acquisition of labor,
procuring supplies from the different European nations, exporting their goods or services to the
various European nations without incurring any additional tariff charges or subsidies and others
(Fahy et al. 2019). This is likely to have a significant impact on the different healthcare
corporations of the nation of UK since it had been seen that the majority of the equipment,
pharmaceutical drugs or medicines, healthcare professionals and others that they require for
offering healthcare services to the patients are being procured by them from the different EU
member nations (Lorgelly 2018). Thus, it becomes important for the healthcare corporations of
UK to formulate effective plans or strategies so as to resolve the issues or the challenges
presented by the Brexit deal. The purpose of this paper is to undertake an analysis of the possible
challenges or the issues that the healthcare corporations of UK are likely to face on account of
the Brexit deal and also the measures that some of them are presently using for overcoming the
same.

2BREXIT AND ITS IMPLICATIONS FOR HEALTHCARE ORGANIZATIONS
Impact of Brexit on the healthcare industry of UK
Mandeville et al. (2018) are of the viewpoint that the Brexit deal while adversely
impacting the business corporations of the nation of UK is also to take a negative toll on the
healthcare industry of the concerned nation as well because of its over-reliance on the different
EU member nations. Adding to this, Truong, Rothe and Bochenek (2019) have noted that the
healthcare sector of the nation of UK over the years had heavily relied on the different EU
member nations for the supply of various medicines or drugs, to avail the professional expertise
of the different healthcare professionals, for the procurement of the equipment or the machineries
which are required for providing the healthcare services to the patients, for the adequate
management of their supply chain system and others. As per an article of Forbes.com (2020),
more than 84% of the pharmacists of the nation of UK are struggling to get the supply of some of
the most commonly used medicines or drugs like HRT, anti-depressants, contraceptives,
epilepsy, diabetes, blood pressure and medicines for other commonly encountered health issues
by the people. More importantly, the ever-increasing number of people of UK who are suffering
from one form of health issue or the other had aggravated the impact of the Brexit deal even
further. Some of the most important implications of the Brexit deal for the healthcare sector of
the nation of UK especially the ones related to the supply chain management of the major
healthcare corporations of the concerned nation are discussed below-
Issues related to procurement of healthcare equipment and its mitigation
As discussed by McCrae (2018), the healthcare corporations for the purpose of offering
the required healthcare services to the patients who suffer from different kinds of health issues
need various kinds of equipment or machines. Adding to this, Anderson, Mossialos and McGuire
(2019) have noted that the majority of the healthcare corporations of the nation of UK even in
the present times are still reliant on the EU members for the procurement of the equipment or the
machines that are needed to offer the required healthcare services to the patients. In this relation,
it needs to be said that the UK government in collaboration with its healthcare department had
taken the help of various kinds of research and development (R&D) projects for the development
of the equipment or the machines which are needed to offer the required support to the patients
(Ellison 2016). According to Deangroup-int.co.uk (2020), the UK national government in the
year 2014 alone spent more than £26.416 billion on different R&D projects for the development

3BREXIT AND ITS IMPLICATIONS FOR HEALTHCARE ORGANIZATIONS
of the equipment or the machines which are needed for the offering the required healthcare
services to the patients. However, at the same time it needs to be said that these R&D projects
used by the UK government had failed to offer the desired results which in turn had made it
imperative for the different healthcare corporations to rely on the EU member nations for the
procurement of the same (Simpkin and Mossialos 2017). Thus, it can be said that the Brexit deal
by adversely affecting the supply chain system of the different healthcare corporations is likely
to negatively affect the quality of the healthcare treatment services which are being offered by
them to the patients. The NHS in order to overcome the adverse effect of the Brexit deal
especially related to the procurement of the required equipment or the machines is trying to take
the different R&D projects, seek support from the different national corporations to facilitate the
manufacture of the same in UK itself and others (Wouters, Hervey and McKee 2020).
Furthermore, research is also being conducted to find alternative measures of offering the
healthcare services to the patients without the usage of the equipment or the machines which
were offered by NHS in the earlier times. In addition to these, the NHS is also trying to procure
the equipment or the machines which it had not being able to manufacture from the other nations
like USA, Australia, Canada and others at a higher price for the resolution of the issues presented
by the Brexit deal related to the procurement of equipment or machines (Read and Fenge 2019).
These measures have substantially helped the NHS to overcome the supply chain issue under
discussion here.
Issues related to the procurement of skilled healthcare professionals and its mitigation
Rogers et al. (2018) are of the viewpoint that in the year 2015 there were more than 1.62
million jobs related to the healthcare sector of UK and there were only 1.23 million workers
working within the concerned sector. Adding to this, Read and Fenge (2019) have noted that in
order to overcome this labor crisis, the healthcare sector of UK followed the policy of procuring
the required healthcare professionals from the different EU member nations. More importantly,
this labor procurement policy also helped the different healthcare corporations of the nation
under discussion here to get skilled or qualified healthcare professionals from the EU member
nations to compensate for the deficit in their corporations (Esmaeilzadeh and Mirzaei 2018).
According to Forbes.com (2020), more than 35% of the doctors and around 29.7% of the
registered nurses working in the NHS in 2015 were born aboard, that is, outside UK, especially

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in the different European nations and this in turn shows the extent to which the healthcare sector
of UK is reliant on the European nations for the procurement of labor. In addition to these, it was
seen that for the purpose of offering the best quality healthcare treatment services to the patients,
the healthcare corporations of UK frequently availed the professional expertise of some of the
leading European healthcare professionals (Lorgelly 2018). However, the healthcare
corporations of the nation of UK would no longer be able to enjoy these benefits on the score of
Brexit and this in turn is not only likely to intensify the labor crisis that the different healthcare
corporations having been facing for a long time now but would also adversely affect the quality
of the healthcare treatment services as well. This has important implications for the patients as
well since now they would have to undertake medical tourism and visit the different EU member
nations for availing the healthcare services of the healthcare professionals who prior to Brexit
used to readily offer their services to the patients of UK by visiting the concerned nation
(Kazzazi et al. 2017). The NHS in order to overcome this particular crisis is offering advanced
training to the healthcare professionals so as to help them to acquire the skill sets which in turn
would enable them to address the treatment needs of the patients in the best possible.
Furthermore, the different healthcare corporations in order to overcome the adverse effects of the
labor crisis that they are facing are using the methods of campus drives, e-recruitment, zero hour
contracts, recruiting healthcare professionals from USA, Australia, Canada and other nations
(Burdett and Fenge 2018). These policies or measures followed by the healthcare corporations of
the nation of UK had enabled them to mitigate the issue of labor crisis that they are facing in the
wake of the Brexit deal if not to completely resolve the same.
Issues related to the procurement of essential medicines and its mitigation
Wildman, Baker and Donaldson (2017) are of the viewpoint that perhaps the most
important negative impact of the Brexit deal on the healthcare sector of the nation of UK would
be related to the procurement of essential medicines or drugs which are needed for the purpose of
offering the required healthcare treatment services to the patients. Adding to this, Dolton et al.
(2018) have noted that the healthcare sector of the nation of UK over the years had greatly
depended on the different pharmaceutical corporations of Europe for the procurement of
essential medicines and other drugs. According to Birmingham.ac.uk (2020), in the year 2015
the healthcare corporations of the nation of UK imported more than 12,300 different essential

5BREXIT AND ITS IMPLICATIONS FOR HEALTHCARE ORGANIZATIONS
medicines from the EU member nations and this accounted for around 25% of the entire essential
medicines used within the concerned nation. However, post-Brexit, the healthcare corporations
would no longer be able to procure the essential medicines or the drugs from the pharmaceutical
corporations operational in the EU member nations and this in turn is likely to substantially
affect the quality of treatment services offered by them to the patients. Furthermore, although the
patients have the option to order the essential medicines from the online e-commerce portal of
the different pharmaceutical corporations yet at the same time it needs to be said that for the
purchase of the same they would have to pay a much higher price in comparison to the one that
they use to pay in the earlier times and thus this is not a feasible option for all the patients of the
nation under discussion here (Dayan 2017). However, for the mitigation of this particular issue
“The Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI)” between the years 2016 to
2019 had established more than 573 biopharma corporations which are presently employing
more than 63,000 workers for the manufacture of different kinds of essential medicines or the
drugs needed by the healthcare corporations of the concerned nation (Forbes.com 2020).
Moreover, the “Medical Research Council” of the nation of UK also invested around £814.1
million into different kinds of R&D projects for the manufacture of the essential medicines or
drugs which the different healthcare corporations of UK over the years had to procure from the
European nations (Deangroup-int.co.uk 2020). These initiatives had substantially contributed
towards the resolution of the issue of procurement of essential medicines or the drugs which are
needed by the healthcare corporations for offering the required healthcare services to the
patients.
Issues related to the delivery of services to the patients and its mitigation
According to Waters (2019), the Brexit deal is likely to adversely affect the delivery of
the healthcare services within the nation of UK and also likely to substantially reduce the quality
of the same as well. Burdett and Fenge (2018) are of the viewpoint that prior to the Brexit deal it
was seen that the healthcare corporations for conducting critical surgeries used to seek the help
of the healthcare professionals from the EU member nations or recommend the patients to them
depending on the nature or the type of the case. For instance, the majority of the children’s
cardiac surgeries which were performed in UK prior to Brexit were through the assistance of the
European healthcare professionals and post-Brexit within Ireland, Dublin is the only location

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wherein this type of surgery is being performed (Rogers et al. 2018). The same holds true for the
other kinds of specialized surgeries or treatment approaches which are being needed by the
patients. More importantly, the UK healthcare corporations because of their over-reliance on the
EU member-nations healthcare professionals over the years have develop the required equipment
or the machines or for that matter to train the healthcare professionals who would be able to offer
these healthcare services to the patients (Fahy et al. 2019). Thus, it can be said that the Brexit
deal is likely to adversely affect the quality of healthcare treatment services which are being
offered to the patients. However, at the same time it is seen that presently the NHS is sending its
healthcare professionals to some of the best hospitals of the world for advanced training
programs so as to help them to acquire the skills that will enable them to perform critical
surgeries and others which in turn would enable them to offer the required treatment services to
the patients (Majeed 2017). Moreover, the different R&D projects of the NHS for the
manufacture of the equipment or the machines that are needed for offering the required
healthcare services to the patients, its initiatives to procure the same from different nations like
USA, Canada, Australia and others are finally meeting with some success and thus it is likely
that in the long-term it would be able to completely resolve this particular supply chain issue.
Issues related to the development of an effective supply chain system and its mitigation
McIntosh and West (2017) are of the viewpoint that the healthcare corporations just like
the business corporations need to have an effective supply chain system which in turn would
ensure that the essential medicines, drugs, equipment, machines and other resources which are
being needed by them. Adding to this, Mandeville et al. (2018) have noted that the quality of the
healthcare services offered by the different healthcare corporations to the patients is greatly
determined by the extent to which they are being able to procure the above mentioned resources
needed by them in a timely and cost-effective manner. More importantly, a delay in the
procurement of these resources can cost the patients their life or for that matter can impair them
for their entire life. Thus, it becomes imperative for the healthcare corporations to develop an
effective supply chain system which will compliment the healthcare services offered by them.
However, in the particular context of the healthcare industry of UK it is seen that the majority of
the healthcare corporations use suppliers which are from the European nations, be it the
pharmaceutical corporations, the equipment or the machine suppliers or others (Wouters, Hervey

7BREXIT AND ITS IMPLICATIONS FOR HEALTHCARE ORGANIZATIONS
and McKee 2020). Furthermore, because of the free trade policy that these corporations used to
enjoy prior to Brexit they never felt the need for developing a domestic supply chain system
which will use the domestic suppliers of the nation of UK. This practice of healthcare
corporations of UK aggravated the impact of the Brexit deal on the healthcare industry of the
concerned. Thus, it becomes all the more important for the healthcare corporations of the nation
of UK to develop an effective supply chain system which will enable them to reap long-term
benefits and also offer high quality healthcare services to the patients in a timely manner. The
healthcare corporations have the opportunity to attain this particular end through the
establishment of effective relationship with the different pharmaceutical corporations of UK, the
wholesalers or the retailers of drugs or essential medicines, equipment or the machine suppliers
and others (Waters 2019). Moreover, the usage of multiple suppliers will enable the healthcare
corporations to not only reduce the power of these suppliers but would also ensure the
procurement of the resources which they require for offering the healthcare services to the
patients in a timely and cost-effective manner as well.
Possible Recommendations
There are various ways through which the healthcare corporations of the nation of UK
can mitigate or even completely resolve the negative implications of the Brexit deal. An
important measure which the different healthcare corporations of the nation of UK can use for
overcoming the supply chain issues presented by Brexit is the development of their own supply
chain system through the usage of the local suppliers of essential medicines, drugs, equipment,
machines and others which are being needed by them. This while helping the healthcare
corporations to overcome the supply chain issues presented by Brexit will also facilitate the
development of the national economy of UK as well. Furthermore, for the purpose of
overcoming the skilled labor crisis, the healthcare corporations have the opportunity to offer
advanced healthcare training to their healthcare professionals which in turn would enable them to
address the skill gap related issues. Another important measure which the healthcare
corporations can follow is by seeking help related to procurement of essential drugs, medicines,
equipment, machines and others from countries like USA, Australia, Canada and others which
are not related to the EU. In addition to these, the usage of different R&D projects for the

8BREXIT AND ITS IMPLICATIONS FOR HEALTHCARE ORGANIZATIONS
development of the required resources for offering the desired healthcare services to the patients
is also recommended.
Conclusion
To conclude, the Brexit deal while adversely affecting the business corporations of the
nation of UK is also likely to serious implications for the healthcare sector of the concerned
nation. For instance, the healthcare sector of UK over the years have relied on the EU member
nations for the procurement of essential medicines, drugs, skilled healthcare professionals,
equipment, medicines and others which are needed for offering the required healthcare services
to the patients. However, post-Brexit, the healthcare sector of UK would not be able to enjoy
these benefits which in turn are likely to adversely affect the quality of the healthcare services
offered by them. Thus, it becomes important for the healthcare corporations to develop their own
supply chain system through the usage of local suppliers, undertake R&D projects for the
manufacture of essential medicines, drugs, equipment, machines and others which are being
needed by them. Furthermore, adequate training also needs to be offered to the healthcare
professionals for the purpose of overcoming the skill gaps so as to mitigate the adverse effects of
the Brexit deal. These aspects of the implications of the Brexit deal on the healthcare sector of
UK become apparent from the above analysis of the same.

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