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The Great Brexit Healthcare disaster

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    The Great Brexit Healthcare disaster

    Saw this on a healthcare forum:


    "I own and run a small medical company that I started 20 years ago with my brother and now run with my wife. We buy and sell medical disposables and help keep the costs of supplying healthcare down. We import products from all over Europe and Asia , buying in both Euros and Dollars. We supply hospitals, chemists , doctors, podiatrists, physiotherapists and vet wholesalers.

    We have grown into a thriving company employing 35 local people. We pay substantial taxation and give back where we can.

    In business we steered the company through the collapse of Sterling against both the Euro ( pretty much parity ) and the Dollar (just above 1.35) between 2008 and 2009.
    Yet another mess created by others ,that we still bear the brunt of..welcome to austerity !!

    That's the history...this is the now .

    The biggest joke of all ,is that far from Brexit giving the NHS £350 million extra a week it will end up costing a lot more! Why- well it's quite simple ,a lot of the products used in the NHS are not made in the good old un-United Kingdom.

    They are made in China,Malaysia,Vietnam Europe and many other places. It is basically where ever they can be made the cheapest.

    It's from these countries that our healthcare products mostly originate. Make no mistake the manufacturers will be putting up prices no matter how healthy their current margin still is. After all ,in most cases, they have shareholders to answer to.

    These rising costs will mean much higher costs for the NHS which is struggling at best. It will also filter down to the Care Home level - their most commonly used products are vinyl gloves and incontinence products which mostly come from China..you get the idea.

    Last week I put up over 600 prices into my customers. The average price rise was 10 % but in some cases higher - if the products are bought in dollars. In business we need to do this ,otherwise we can't afford our overheads.

    We can't hang on to the hope that Sterling may recover. It is always a risk putting prices up particularly as a small business. It's the time your competition who quite often are bigger than you ,seize the opportunity to supply clients at a loss.

    Continuing on this Brexit course is a disaster for the UK health market. Gone are the days of being able to buy products in Europe ,put them on a lorry, next stop Wiltshire, saving clients money and reducing healthcare spend.

    Welcome to customs at Dover ,lots of extra paper work ,and yet more costs for all concerned. It won't be the companies that swallow these extra costs it will be the general public -make no mistake.

    I have been a Tory (sorry!) all my life but not anymore. They are crass at best ,and certainly don't respect me nor my opinions. They are absolutely following the wrong path and it's not in my name.

    We never voted for taking us out of the Customs Union and Single Market. There is film of the likes of Johnson,Hammond and Farage saying so....WAKE UP. They must not forget this. If it all goes wrong what do they care - most of them are wealthy and will just do the lectures circuit anyway.

    The people who can ill afford it ,will end up worst hit. Energy is bought in dollars as is oil. Yet more costs to heat your home and run you car and for what? An ideology that does not exist. "
    Hard Brexit now!
    #prayfornodeal

    #2
    So the NHS buys it's products piecemeal from smaller companies that add their charges. Why the hell is the NHS not using it's huge buying power to negotiate directly and drive down costs.

    Thanks SAS for highlighting this gross inefficient purchase method by the NHS.

    Comment


      #3
      Originally posted by woohoo View Post
      So the NHS buys it's products piecemeal from smaller companies that add their charges. Why the hell is the NHS not using it's huge buying power to negotiate directly and drive down costs.

      Thanks SAS for highlighting this gross inefficient purchase method by the NHS.
      Or it could just deal with large companies, based offshore, that would save the NHS loads....

      Comment


        #4
        Sounds like a lot of those older brexit voters will be enjoying less years in retirement if the forego the expensive treatment.

        Just wait until the pensioners from Spain return to put more pressure on the system.

        Sometimes the best way to cure stupid is to just sit back and watch it self destruct. Kind of like explosive Brownian motion particles on contact.
        Last edited by scooterscot; 6 February 2017, 10:46.
        "Never argue with stupid people, they will drag you down to their level and beat you with experience". Mark Twain

        Comment


          #5
          Originally posted by scooterscot View Post
          .
          Sometimes the best way to cure stupid is to just sit back and watch it self distrust. ...
          Something else you have to do with stupid is to try and figure out which word they meant when the one they used is obviously wrong, such as:

          distrust -> destruct
          Work in the public sector? Read the IR35 FAQ here

          Comment


            #6
            That small business owner and many like him are local companies creating jobs and paying taxes here.
            But you'll get your wish alright. US companies are just waiting to get the lions share of NHS procurement if the Tories have their way.
            And no taxes will be paid here, all the profits will flow back to the US.
            Which of course in the long run means we won't be able to afford the NHS.
            Hard Brexit now!
            #prayfornodeal

            Comment


              #7
              Originally posted by OwlHoot View Post
              Something else you have to do with stupid is to try and figure out which word they meant when the one they used is obviously wrong, such as:

              distrust -> destruct
              My i's and e's are confusing me more and more these days.
              "Never argue with stupid people, they will drag you down to their level and beat you with experience". Mark Twain

              Comment


                #8
                Originally posted by woohoo View Post
                So the NHS buys it's products piecemeal from smaller companies that add their charges. Why the hell is the NHS not using it's huge buying power to negotiate directly and drive down costs.

                Thanks SAS for highlighting this gross inefficient purchase method by the NHS.
                Because it tried that and added billions and billions of costs in agency worker costs

                Comment


                  #9
                  So they got through the financial crisis when £/ € was 10% lower but can't manage now? How bizarre.

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Originally posted by bobspud View Post
                    Because it tried that and added billions and billions of costs in agency worker costs
                    Can you add any more to it than that?

                    Otherwise I get the impression the NHS tried to negotiate with its huge buying power but made a tulip job of it.

                    Comment

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