Macmillan Wales has joined a group of 20 organisations from across Wales calling for health and social care to be made a priority as the UK prepares to leave the EU.

While the charity does not take any stance on the merits or otherwise of Brexit, it has today voiced its support for a statement from the Welsh NHS Confederation, which outlines the key issues and priorities facing health and social care services in Wales.

The 10 priorities identified by the Welsh NHS Confederation range from the need to ensure patients continue to benefit from new treatments and clinical trials available in the EU, to the need to offset any loss of EU funding.

Richard Pugh, Head of Services for Macmillan in Wales, said:

“This is a very welcome statement from the Welsh NHS Confederation – one which offers a detailed overview of the wide-ranging issues that Wales’ health and social care services will face as part of the process of withdrawing from the EU.

“We are now two years into the withdrawal process and there is growing concern over the lack of any robust evidence on the impact that leaving the EU will have on health and social care, both in Wales and across the UK.

“We simply do not have a clear view on key areas like access to EU medical research, on immigration and its vital role in maintaining our NHS and social care workforce, or on how the rights of the highly-trained staff who underpin the health and social care system in Wales will be protected.

“Whether it is making sure we can source the highly trained staff our health and social care services need, or maintaining links to vital research, there is much that needs to be worked through if we are to make sure our health and social care system is placed in the strongest possible position once the UK leaves the EU.”