Ferry and other transport operators are to bring thousands of heavy goods vehicles a week to the UK carrying life-saving medicines and other supplies if the UK leaves the EU without a deal. However, the ferries will not use the standard cross-Channel ports, which are expected to become heavily congested in a no-deal scenario.

Delays in the delivery of medicines with short lead times will be longer than originally expected in the event of a no-deal Brexit, UK health care providers have been warned.

There are six weeks or less for medtech companies to be ready to operate as well as they can under Brexit – assuming that it will take place at the third time of asking. The new NHS procurement scheme, already in place, is another potentially disruptive concept for UK companies to adapt to.

As the Brexit clock continues to tick, industry says it is not impressed by government reassurances that all is well where the continued supply of medicines is concerned.

Life science companies need more information on plans for alternative medicine supply routes if the UK leaves the EU without a deal, according to the BioIndustry Association, which says the release of the Operation Yellowhammer document shows the “significant impact” such an outcome would have on the sector.

If you are finding it difficult to follow what is happening on the broad political level in the UK as well as on the technical medtech level, you are not alone. Here we explain why Brexit-related dates are up in the air for the UK.

The UK government has set 1 November 2019 as the date the UK’s own medtech regulations will apply, the day after the country is, in theory, due to leave the EU and potentially without a deal. But nothing is certain on the UK political scene any longer, not even this.

Draft regulations on medicines and medical devices could get caught up in the chaos that seems about to engulf the UK parliament as opposition MPs attempt to avert a no-deal Brexit.