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All forms of Brexit will negatively impact the UK National Health Service (NHS), but the prospect of a No-Deal Brexit presents by far the worst scenario, with negative effects on the healthcare workforce, NHS financing, availability of medicines and vaccines, sharing of information and medical research, according to a new Health Policy review published in The Lancet . While the Withdrawal Agreement negotiated between the UK Government and the EU (but not agreed by Parliament) offers a more positive scenario compared to a No-Deal Brexit, there are serious concerns about the negative impact of Brexit on the NHS beyond the transition period, when the Backstop or arrangements envisaged in the Political Declaration on the Future Relationship would come into force, a note from the journal said.

Spending on health is growing faster than the rest of the global economy, accounting for 10 per cent of global gross domestic product (GDP). A new report on global health expenditure from the World Health Organization (WHO) reveals a swift upward trajectory of global health spending, which is particularly noticeable in low- and middle-income countries where health spending is growing, on average, 6 per cent annually compared with 4 per cent in high-income countries.

Health spending is made up of government expenditure, out-of-pocket payments (people paying for their own care), and sources such as voluntary health insurance, employer-provided health programmes, and activities by non-governmental organisations.

Governments provide an average of 51 per cent of a country’s health spending, while more than 35 per cent of health spending per country comes from out-of-pocket expenses. One consequence of this is 100 million people pushed into extreme poverty each year.

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