Brexit

Pharmacists are feeling pessimistic about the future of community pharmacy in post-Brexit Britain, according to a survey

The Healthcare Distribution Association has urged those involved in Brexit negotiations to consider the importance of the single market in facilitating medicines supply

Despite recent political changes, community pharmacy could still offer government a neat solution to issues in healthcare, argues community pharmacist Noel Wicks I don’t think I’m alone in being a little shocked at the result of the Brexit vote. Like many, I hadn’t really contemplated the reality of a Leave vote simply because it hadn’t registered as a realistic outcome. This may have been because the general feeling here in Scotland was one of wanting to remain in Europe, as was reflected in the voting statistics. Quite a few people have asked me why Scotland voted the way it did. I don’t think there’s any clear reason why it was so different from elsewhere in the UK. Could it be perhaps that we feel a bit removed from some of the issues that seemed to drive so much of the pre-referendum debate? I’m thinking of things such as immigration and the NHS. While I wouldn’t suggest these aren’t relevant in Scotland, I don’t think they are felt quite so keenly as they are south of the border. Perhaps it was because ‘our Nicola’ was in the vanguard of the Remain campaign and, to many, acquitted herself admirably during the televised debates. Whatever the reason, it seems Scotland may well reconsider its role within the UK, although I do think it needs to be realistic about what the reality of a solo position in Europe might look like.

The Society has promised to do all it can “to ensure that pharmacists and pharmaceutical scientists from all countries continue to feel welcome