Insulin risk if no-deal Brexit - 13th November 2019

Diabetics and insulin providers are stockpiling insulin in order to avoid potential shortages in case Britain exits the European Union without a withdrawal agreement.

David Burns is a 37 year old teacher based in London. David is one of 3.7 million diabetics living in the UK who rely on the hormone to regulate their blood sugar levels.

David: "All of these come from Switzerland, these come from Denmark, but we don't make any of this here and none of these companies that made this are British - I think the vast majority of them are Swiss."

In the event of a no deal Brexit, customs agreements and health controls will end and would need to be re-established. This could result in backlogs and delays in the importation of drugs, endangering lives.

The Department of Health has announced it has contingency plans to fast-track emergency medicine deliveries in case of congestion at the border. David remains concerned.

David: "If I ran out of insulin, obviously I don't want to test this out, but I can't imagine I'd have more than a couple of months left on this planet, so I'm terrified of a no-deal Brexit."