New NHS ‘Net Zero’ Rules Could Put Patients’ Lives At Risk
NHS ‘net zero’ rules could put patients’ lives at risk by threatening supplies of vital medicines, leading doctors have claimed
From April 1 next year, drug companies seeking major new deals to supply NHS medicines will be forced to meet tougher ‘net zero’ rules covering global supply chains – or risk being rejected for the contract.
Under the regulations, major suppliers will have to publicly report emissions from worldwide operations, commit to reaching ‘net zero’ by 2050 and set out what they are doing to cut emissions.
Companies which fail to meet the minimum requirements will not qualify to go to the next stage of the buying process.
The Department of Health hit back at suggestions the policy could threaten medicine supplies, saying:
“It is categorically untrue that patients will be put at risk by the transition to net zero.”
However, two of Britain’s leading cancer specialists warn the new requirements could drive up costs and shrink the pool of companies prepared to compete to supply drugs to the health service.
Their warning comes as Britain is already grappling with medicine supply problems. Official figures show pharmaceutical companies made around 700 medicine supply issue notifications in the first six months of this year.
Professor Angus Dalgleish, Professor of Oncology at St George’s, University of London, accused the health service of being “entirely beholden to Net Zero ideology”.
He told GB News:
“There are plenty of other places suppliers can go and there is a worldwide shortage of many drugs. It is madness. Shouldn’t they look at how best to deal with patients – that should be the priority it is soul destroying. I wouldn’t be so sure this isn’t a deadly threat.”
Professor Dalgleish also said shortages already affect some medicines, including antibiotics and blood-pressure treatments.
He said:
“There is a shortage of a lot of drugs, such as hypotensive treatments and antibiotics, which are not profitable. This risks making the problem far worse.”
Professor Karol Sikora, former chief of the World Health Organisation‘s cancer programme and one of Britain’s leading cancer specialists, warned the NHS was adding another layer of bureaucracy to a system already struggling to secure medicines.
He said:
“This is a crazy situation. Even relatively cheap generic drugs are in short supply and this is already an issue – pharmacists have a nightmare putting drugs together. There are enough drugs out there but it is to do with procurement. And this could threaten drug supplies, including vital drugs like cancer.”
He warned cancer patients could be particularly vulnerable because many treatments rely on several different medicines being available at the same time.
Professor Sikora said:
“Most cancer treatments need three or four drugs in one go, for example and missing out one dose will reduce a patient’s chance of getting a good response.”
Companies supplying the NHS already face ‘carbon’ reporting rules, but from April 1, 2027, the requirements for major suppliers will go much further, covering emissions from their worldwide operations and many more sources across their global supply chains.
The toughest rules will apply to companies seeking NHS deals worth £5million a year or more. They will also apply to suppliers joining new NHS buying schemes used to buy medicines, equipment and other supplies.
Professor Sikora warned that increasing the demands on companies could leave the NHS choosing between fewer suppliers.
He said:
“Procurement for the NHS is already incredibly bureaucratic. If you prescribe cheap drugs in hospital it already often costs far more than the cost value for them because of this. And these rules on top mean you are competing with a smaller supply pool as many will not want to get involved – this means there will be less better deals.”
He also warned:
“It also means this will cost a lot more money however you do it and suppliers will have to bear this cost which means they may not bother, which will put drug supplies at risk.”
Medical industry groups have also raised concerns over the changes.
British American Business, which represents more than 2,000 companies across Britain and North America, said extending the requirements to non-UK operations could place an “undue and disproportionate burden” on some companies with extensive global supply chains.
It warned companies which fail to make the required global emissions commitment could be excluded from competing for NHS contracts, although exemptions will apply in some circumstances.
It also called for the NHS to avoid rules which could damage patient access, choice or the resilience of medical supplies.
It said unintended barriers to patient access, choice and supply-chain resilience must be avoided. Healthcare industry groups have also warned the rules could hit supplies.
The British In Vitro Diagnostics Association, which represents more than 250 companies making and supplying diagnostic tests, warned that without changes there could be concerns about “product availability in the future”.
It said the rules must be practical and proportionate while protecting patients’ access to medical products and ensuring the NHS has a reliable supply chain.
The organisation stressed that the diagnostics industry supports the NHS’s ‘net zero’ ambitions and is already working to reduce its environmental impact.
The Department of Health strongly rejected the doctors’ warnings, insisting critical medicines would be protected where supplies were limited.
A spokesman said:
“It is categorically untrue that patients will be put at risk by the transition to net zero. The NHS has clearly recognised that, where there are limited options for critical goods, equipment and services, patient care will come before any procurement requirements.
However, it is also a statement of fact that the NHS has already saved hundreds of millions of pounds in energy costs through the adoption of greener ways of working, which they have been able to channel back into frontline care.
This includes hospitals in Lincolnshire, which have benefited from over £5million of investment to install solar panels, reducing their energy bills and saving funds to be spent on patient care instead.”
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very old white guy
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Net zero puts everyone at risk, it is insanity on steroids and is a physical impossibility.
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