ST Helens and Knowsley Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust has been ordered to assess the risk to critical equipment and supplies in the event of a no-deal Brexit.

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has formally requested all NHS organisations carry out the formal self-assessment in the event that the government do not strike a deal with the EU.

The trust’s “at risk” contracts and proposed mitigation plans have to be submitted to the DHSC by November 30, according to a recent trust report.

The report says: “The procurement teams in the trust are working with colleagues across Cheshire and Merseyside to produce a coordinated response from the local health system that avoids multiple requests for the same information from common suppliers.”

The risk of a no-deal Brexit has also been added to the trust’s Corporate Risk Register as a “high/extreme risk”.

Nicola Bunce, director of corporate services, updated the trust’s board on the work on Wednesday.

She said: “There are formal requirements now coming out now from the Department of Health and Social Care for the trust to undertake self-assessments in terms of critical risks in the event of a no Brexit deal.

“That’s been added to our Corporate Risk Register and there’s a lot of work going on in our procurement and medicine and management teams to undertake that and coordinate that.”

Questions were also raised during the meeting about the impact of Brexit on the trust’s workforce

Anne-Marie Stretch, deputy chief executive and director of human resources, said less than seven per cent of the trust’s workforce are employed from EU countries, excluding the UK.

She said the trust is keeping staff updated on the situation, while acknowledging that there is a “lack of clarity” on the situation.

Ms Stretch said: “The government are issuing lots guidance about individuals who have right to live here and right to stay, so we’re in active communication with all of our workforce about it.

“Our current workforce we’re looking after, from a supply perspective, it’s never been such a big issue for us anyway.

“Unlike some of the big London trusts who are absolutely really, really reliant – sometimes 33 per cent of their workforce comes from Europe.

“So, they’ve got some big issues.”