Brexit impact fears as figures show one in 20 NHS workers are from the EU

By The Press Association24th June 2016News EnglandBrexit, Care Homes, Hospitals, News England, NHS, Workforce

Brexit could have a “huge impact” on the NHS workforce, a leading auditor has warned as figures show that one in every 20 NHS workers in England come from the European Union.

Fresh analysis of workforce statistics show than 57,608 workers in the health service in England come from the EU – or 5% of the total workforce,

Analysis by the Press Association found that 9% of NHS doctors come from the European Union, with particularly large numbers of Greek and Irish nationals.

Data from the Health and Care Information Centre show that in March, 21,032 nurses and health visitors come from countries within the EU – or 7% of the total number of workforce.

Almost 12,000 EU nationals work in support roles for clinical staff and more than 6,000 work in “NHS infrastructure” jobs including 456 NHS managers.

Commenting on the outcome of the referendum, Jason Parker, head of healthcare at auditor KPMG, said: “Today’s economic uncertainty as a result of Brexit has a potentially huge impact on the NHS’s workforce. The health sector is enormously reliant on workers from the European Economic Area. We will be advising our clients to look after and reassure these highly skilled and valued workers.

“We expect there to be further implications for research and innovation in the NHS, as many collaborations and employees in this domain rely on existing links with the European Union.

“NHS leaders will be hoping that the Brexit camp stay true to their word to redirect some of the capital linked to the European Union back into the NHS, however whether that is financially practical remains to be seen.”