Healthcare organisations seek funding assurances following Brexit vote

Leading midwives have expressed fears over the impact Brexit will have on NHS finances.

The Royal College of Midwives (RCM) said that while the full impact of the decision to leave the European Union will not be known for some time, it remains concerned about the impact of the move on NHS funding.

The College added that it will be “seeking assurances” over the future of EU citizens who work in the NHS.

Meanwhile the British Medical Association (BMA) has urged politicians “not to play games” with the health service in the aftermath of the referendum.

In a statement, the RCM said: “The RCM is disappointed that the outcome of the referendum is a vote to leave the EU, although of course we respect the outcome of this democratic process.

“During the referendum campaign, the RCM supported a vote to remain in the UK on the basis that this would be the best way to secure important maternity entitlements for pregnant women, legal protections for the midwifery profession, and employment rights for midwives and maternity support workers that were all benefits of EU membership.

“The vote is likely to result in a period of considerable uncertainty for the UK. Whilst it will be some time before the full economic, political and social implications become clear, the impact that this will have on public finances and the funding of the NHS remains of concern to the RCM.

“The RCM will redouble its efforts to safeguard its members’ employment rights, the status of the profession and women’s maternity entitlements and protections. We will also be seeking assurances about the position and future of the many valued EU citizens who work in the NHS.”

A BMA spokesman added: “In the aftermath of the UK’s vote to leave the EU, the BMA reaffirms its commitment to working with our European partners and the European Union to safeguard the future of our profession and the patients we serve.

“We urge politicians not to play games with the UK’s health services as the country faces a new future.

“We stand together as one profession with our colleagues from Europe and across the world, with whom we live, work and study and on whom the NHS depends.”

As a result of the referendum, health regulators may have to change the way information about medics is shared across European borders when concerns are raised about doctors or nurses.

At present, there are European directives on sharing disciplinary records and fitness to practise hearings.

Niall Dickson, chief executive of the General Medical Council, said: “Withdrawing from Europe will have implications for the way that we regulate doctors but we understand that the vote to leave the EU will have no impact on the registration status of any doctor already on the register.

“We will now explore how doctors from the EU will be granted access to the UK medical register and how any concerns about those doctors will be shared between us and other countries. We will also seek to understand the implications for UK doctors wishing to work in the EU once the UK is no longer a member state.”

Jackie Smith, chief executive of the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC), said: “We will be working closely with the Government and other partners to understand the implications of the UK’s negotiated withdrawal from the European Union on our work. However, there will be no immediate impact on the NMC in terms of our role as the UK-wide regulator for nursing and midwifery.”

Meanwhile, Nigel Farage has said that the official Leave campaign’s call to spend £350 million a week extra on the NHS with money saved from contributions to the European Union was a “mistake” and cannot be guaranteed to happen.

The Ukip leader was not part of the Vote Leave campaign which emblazoned slogans such as “We send the EU £350 million a week, let’s fund our NHS instead” and “Let’s give our NHS the £350 million the EU takes every week” on buses and posters.

The figure has twice been described as misleading by the UK Statistics Authority watchdog because it referred only to the UK’s £19 billion gross annual contribution and did not take into account Britain’s rebate or money that comes back from the EU. When these factors are included, the net cost was around £7.1 billion a year – or £137 million a week.

Asked on ITV’s Good Morning Britain to guarantee the money would go to the NHS, Mr Farage said: “No, I can’t and I would never have made that claim – it was one of the mistakes that the Leave campaign made.”

Copyright (c) Press Association Ltd. 2016, All Rights Reserved. Picture (c) Peter Byrne / PA Wire.