RCPCH statement on Brexit

Our President responds to the ongoing political uncertainty around Brexit and warns about the potential impact on children and young people.

Professor Russell Viner, President of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) said:

I call upon the Government and all MPs to place the best interests of our children and young people at the heart of decisions on the future of our country.

I am increasingly concerned about the effects of such chronic political uncertainty on our doctors, patients and parents. Those working at the heart of our NHS deserve reassurance and peace of mind so they can get on with looking after patients. It is difficult to provide vital reassurance in such a profoundly uncertain environment.

We must not, in leaving the European Union, harm the very thing on which our future depends – the health and wellbeing of today’s children and young people. The politics are divisive but the details of what must be done for young people and children need not be. We must have clarity and certainty on the maintenance of our NHS workforce, the supply of medicines, and how to protect our research base from the effects of leaving the EU.

An abrupt severance of the vast web of connections we have built over the past 40 years will inevitably disrupt the health of children and young people. It is essential to do all we can to protect children and young people and those who care for them. For the UK to be successful, no matter what our future relationship with the EU, the health and wellbeing of our children is key.