15.11.17
Ministers must commit to permanent status for ‘vital’ EU staff, says Keogh
It is not inevitable that EU staff leave the NHS because of Brexit, but the government should commit to permanent status for workers.
This was the message from NHS England’s national medical director, Sir Bruce Keogh, who urged ministers to give workers a reason to stay and continue their “vital contribution” to the service.
Speaking to NHE during a visit to Manchester, the outgoing director was backed up by Jon Rouse, chief officer of the Greater Manchester Health and Social Care Partnership.
On the back of announcements yesterday that a fifth of the EU doctors who make up the NHS have made plans to leave the country, Rouse said action needed to be taken soon or things would only worsen.
Yesterday the Royal College of GPs also addressed the issue, urging the government to make the NHS workforce a Brexit “top priority” in order to combat a potential staff exodus.
Keogh told NHE that the health service needed support from the government to ensure workers know how important they are to the system.
“What would be really helpful is a very clear statement from the government that people from the EU who work in the NHS would have permanent status in this country,” he added.
“What we are seeing is that the number of nurses wanting to come and work in England from the EU is dwindling, and we know that a number of doctors are now feeling unwelcome.
“These people make a vital contribution to our NHS and they need to understand that they are valued by the political leaders of this country.”
Rouse agreed, adding that the situation would only deteriorate if action is not taken quickly by central government.
“It is going to get worse unless we begin to see some very clear commitments to how this transition is going to be managed,” he continued.
“We cannot afford to lose those people, it is as simple as that. We are doing a lot of overseas recruitment from other parts of the world, but we need there to be a confidence for EU workers that they are welcome, that they are a critical part of our workforce and that we want them to stay. We need to be giving those messages very clearly.”
Both Keogh and Rouse spent some time yesterday speaking to NHE about the need for a single commissioning process within the care sector. They agreed that an integrated system of trusts and local authorities working together with pooled resources and budget would be the future of social care.
Top image: Lance B
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