Britain’s NHS ‘overreliant’ on China for medical supplies, report says

Name: Shanghai plans to start lifting months-long lockdown in June
Uploaded: 2022-05-17T13:10:22.000Z
Duration: 1 min 48 s
Description: Shanghai plans to start lifting months-long lockdown in June

National Health Service spent more than US$7 billion on Chinese-produced medical products in 2021, according to British think tank Civitas

Spending on imported medical supplies from China has tripled since 2019, the report found

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An NHS ambulance worker outside the Royal London Hospital in January. A new report claims Britain’s health agency has become “dangerously overreliant” on medical supplies from China, including personal protective equipment. Photo: EPA-EFE

Chad Brayin London

Published: 9:10pm, 17 May 2022

Britain’s National Health Service has become “dangerously overreliant” on China for medical supplies, with the health agency spending more than £6 billion (US$7.4 billion) on Chinese-produced medical products last year, according to a new report by British think tank Civitas.

One in six items found on the United Kingdom’s so-called disaster relief list are sourced from China and the British government’s spending on Chinese-produced medical products has tripled since 2019, the report found. In the past, only about 6 per cent of vital medical supplies were sourced from China, it said.

The list includes more than 200 items, ranging from medicines and medical devices to personal protection equipment and disinfectants. No duties or value-added tax (VAT) are paid on imported items on that list.

“When the pandemic hit we were caught napping and had to go ‘cap in hand’ to China to keep the NHS afloat – the health equivalent of going to the IMF for a loan in the 1970s,” said Robert Clark, co-author of the report and head of defence and security at Civitas, in a statement.

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Shanghai plans to start lifting months-long lockdown in June

“Let’s not be naive about China. This is an urgent issue for health bosses with the risk that future geopolitical spats could lead to the Chinese switching off critical medical supplies destined for the NHS,” he added.

The NHS did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday.