What are the consequences of leaving Euratom for healthcare? Lords to hear evidence

Medical radioisotopes are essential for the diagnosis and treatment of various diseases including cancers, and cardiovascular and brain diseases.

 
The UK currently has no reactors that are capable of producing the isotopes that are used in medical procedures, and imports them mostly from the EU. Once the UK's membership to Euratom ends there are concerns that we risk breaking the time-sensitive supply chain.

The Committee will question the witnesses on the safeguards needed after the Euratom Treaty comes to end to ensure the safe and timely transport and delivery of medical radioisotopes.

At 10:30am the Committee will hear from:

• Professor Michael Rees, Co-Chair of the Medical Academic Staff Committee, British Medical Association
• Dr John Buscombe, President-Elect, British Nuclear Medicine Society
• Dr Jeanette Dickson, Vice President, Faculty of Clinical Oncology, Royal College of Radiologists

Topics the Committee are likely to cover include:

• The medical products and procedures that are likely to be impacted by the UK's departure from the Euratom treaty
• Key safeguards in the Euratom Treaty that provide for the safe and timely transport and delivery of medical radioisotopes, and the safeguards that will need to be maintained in the future
• The implications of a disruption in the supply of radioisotopes for hospitals and other health providers, as well as for patients
• The opportunities for health practitioners or patients in the UK that might arise from leaving Euratom
• Whether the UK should invest in alternative technologies to produce radioisotopes
• What other steps could mitigate any negative consequences of leaving Euratom

The evidence session will begin at 10:30 am on Wednesday 22 November and take place in Committee room 3 of the House of Lords.