Alternative markets for the purchase of most of the 1,870 medicinal products bought from the UK were identified in case of a no-deal Brexit, Health Minister Chris Fearne said on Wednesday.

Mr Fearne told Parliament an alternative market for about 80 of the products in question had yet to be found, adding that the government was working closely with the European Medicines Authority to address the situation. The government had also started stockpiling certain medicine to avoid problems in case of certain “hiccups”. 

The Medicines Authority had also held talks with importers to ensure there were no shortages or price increases.

The 1975 agreement enabling Maltese citizens to receive treatment in the UK for free would remain in force, the minister said. 

The Medical Council would also introduce a fast-track system to facilitate the registration of professionals who came to Malta to treat patients together with their teams.

Mr Fearne also confirmed that existing agreements with schools across the UK would not be impacted by a no-deal scenario and doctors from the two countries could still work in hospitals in both countries.