Pressure Is On For Brexit Deal To Allow NHS To Recruit And Retain European Staff

11 May 2018, 19 mins ago

The NHS currently employs around 41,000 doctors, nurses, health visitors, midwifes, therapists or scientific and technical staff from the EU. Moreover, about 9% of the doctors in the UK had qualified in EU countries where the education system is arguably more accessible if tuition fees are taken into consideration. Analysis offered by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy, the Brexit advisory commission for public services, reveals how the NHS workforce is made up of 5.6% EU staff, which is not far off the total of 6.9% from the rest of the world.

It is well-known that the NHS is significantly understaffed and if we look at the Home Office’s latest shortage occupation list we can find the full list of professionals needed by the UK healthcare system: medical practitioners, radiographers, nurses, paramedics and health professionals not classified elsewhere.

In spite of this difficult situation, the Government has been recently accused of adopting a hostile approach towards immigration policies which is directly affecting the NHS. Analysis by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy shows it is vital for the system to be able to recruit and keep European talent as major cities and towns are particularly dependent on EU workers.  

As for the Brexit negotiations, the Institute suggests that there are about seven possible approaches to recruitment, including free movement for particular groups of workers, free movement for people with a job offer and a points-based system. The difficulty for the health care system is finding a solution that allows the recruitment of top-end talent alongside large numbers of skilled workers such as nurses and technicians as well as lower-skilled (but equally vital) care workers.

Gherson are experts in assisting with various immigration matters. If you need assistance or wish to receive some more information regarding your immigration matters, please contact us.

 

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