After a tumultuous few years following the UK’s decision to exit the European Union in 2016, the agreed departure is in its concluding stages.
The EU Withdrawal Agreement Bill has now passed in both the House of Commons and House of Lords and, having now received Royal Assent, is law. The European Parliament has also approved the withdrawal agreement, – meaning that the UK will be leaving the EU on the 31st of January as promised by Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
Over the last few years, Brexit has caused uncertainty around the future of the NHS for both users of the system and healthcare providers and suppliers.
In response, UK-based healthcare solutions partner HealthTrust Europe (HTE) published a mitigation plan to counter risk from the UK’s proposed exit from the EU back in March 2019. HTE has continued to adapt to the changing nature of the process of Exiting the EU to ensure the continuity of high-quality patient care upon the UK’s EU departure ever since. HTE has worked continuously with suppliers in order to ensure an easy and swift departure from the EU, whilst fully protecting our customers.
The mitigation plan included updated contract terms and conditions, fixed pricing and contractual protections for nearly 300 NHS and commercial health and care providers. HTE also updated its standard contract terms and conditions addressing the supplier’s obligation for continuity of supply of products and services along with compliance to the new GDPR regulations.
HTE is committed to the continued delivery of the highest level of care to patients in our communities through our market-leading solutions in a range of areas. These include ICT solutions, pharmaceutical and diagnostic solutions, purchased services solutions and total workforce solutions.
Commenting on the mitigation plan and updated contract terms, HealthTrust Europe’s Chief Operating Officer, Dale Robinson said:
“We have worked successfully in the face of adversity over the years, motivated by our commitment to the care and improvement of human life.
“From the moment the UK’s exit from the EU was decided, we have been focused on supporting our healthcare provider partners preparing for exit day to ensure smooth delivery of consumables and services.
“We have been ready since exit day in March 2019 with updated contract terms to ensure robust protections for our customers. But that was just step number one – since then our work has focussed to reassure our partners that we are continually offering support and working with our suppliers to ensure continuity of supply of products and services.”
During this transition stage, HTE would like to remind customers that we are here to support them through Brexit and beyond.
Our dedicated Customer Care team are on hand to facilitate concerns and updates. We encourage health and care providers to get in touch by calling 0845 887 5000 or by emailing customercare@htepg.com for any enquiries.
