Shropshire Star

Fewer EU health workers after EU referendum

Fewer EU nationals are joining the workforce at Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital Trust than before the Brexit referendum, figures reveal.

Published

Healthcare workers' union Unison has warned that the loss of European employees would leave the NHS in "a state of near collapse".

Between December 2014 and November 2015, the equivalent of 54 EU citizens started full-time jobs at the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust, NHS Digital data shows.

But over the same period in 2017-18, after the UK voted to leave the EU, the trust hired just 26 EU citizens.

At Shropshire Community Health Trust over the same period the equivalent of 155 full-time workers started with three from the EU making up 1.9 per cent of the intake.

The figures were similar at Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital Trust, where three EU workers out of 161 made up less than two per cent of those coming in.

Sara Gorton, Unison's head of health, said: "Departing EU nationals mean serious problems for the NHS.

"Brexit is making it harder for hospitals to recruit, and causing workers to question staying here.

"Without the many health employees from across Europe, the NHS would be in a state of near collapse, and their skills and expertise have helped limit the effects of the huge staffing gaps.

"Further staff losses would mean even more stress for an already overstretched workforce, and would have a devastating impact on patient care."

While the number of EU nationals joining the staff of the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust is falling, the figure for UK workers has remained fairly level.

Between December 2017 and November 2018, 479 full-time UK employees joined the trust, compared with 497 in 2014-15.

Across England, fewer EU nationals are joining the NHS and more are leaving than before the referendum, while the trend is reversed for staff from the UK.

The number of EU citizens starting full-time jobs has fallen by 26%, from 14,500 in 2014-15 to 10,800 in 2017-18, while the number leaving work has risen from 6,700 to 9,600.

Conversely, 109,000 full-time UK workers joined the NHS in 2017-18, compared with 103,000 three years earlier.

The Department of Health and Social Care said it was encouraging NHS workers from the EU to apply for settled status.

A spokesperson said: "EU workers play a vital role across the health and social care system, and we want them to stay here long after the UK leaves the EU.

"Our priority is to make sure that high standards are maintained across the healthcare system, and that patients continue to receive the high-quality care they deserve."