Planning for a ‘Hard Brexit’
23 October 2018
The Department of Health and Social Care continue to undertake work and studies in relation to ‘no deal’ Brexit planning. The Association circulated a letter from the Minister for Health in September, along with government technical notes on ‘no deal’ medical device regulation and the import and export of medical devices. A further letter from the Minister has now been received, providing an update on preparations and work on contingency planning should the UK leave the EU in March next year without a deal in place.
The document on devices stated that “The UK will comply with all key elements of the Medical Devices Regulation … which will apply in the EU from May 2020”, and, specifically, in the case of ‘no deal’, it stated that, “The UK will recognise medical devices approved for the EU market and CE-marked” in order to accept products onto the UK market. However, it is suggested that this recognition would be for a “time limited” period and subsequent arrangements would be subject to consultation. The Association continues to work with government, the MHRA and other stakeholders throughout this process to ensure that the dental industry’s views are properly considered in planning for any situations after March 2019, including the possibility of a no-deal Brexit.