More EU27 ambulance staff quitting NHS

More and more European Union-trained ambulance staff are quitting the NHS, raising fears of a Brexit drain from the service.

There are fears the departures could exacerbate high vacancy rates in ambulance services in England, which are already one of the most understaffed areas of care.

Freedom of information requests, requested by the Liberal Democrats, have revealed what the party says is an ‘alarming’ trend of resignations among ambulance staff trained in the other 27 EU countries.

The responses from England’s 10 ambulance services trusts reveal that 101 paramedics, call handlers and other staff from the rest of the EU left in2016-17, one in seven of the 688 EU27 personnel who were working for the trusts during that time.

Last year was the second in a row in which the number of leavers rose.

At the South Central Ambulance Service, 27 of its 143 EU27 staff quit, the most among the seven trusts. At South East Coast Ambulance Service, 20 EU nationals left, while 18 of 152 did so at the London Ambulance Service, slightly fewer than the 21 who left the year before.

Judith Jolly, who speaks for the Liberal Democrats on health, said: “It is deeply concerning to see a rise in ambulance staff from the EU leaving the country. This is especially alarming when we are facing such a severe shortage of paramedics.

“These EU citizens save lives in our communities every day, yet ministers have treated them like dirt and failed to give them certainty over their futures here.”

Danny Mortimer, co-convener of the Cavendish Coalition, a grouping of health and social care organisations that fear Brexit’s possible impact on the NHS and social care, said: “Any indication that the NHS is becoming less attractive as a place to work for paramedics and ambulance staff, from abroad or from the UK, is worrying.

“The certainty now being offered EU nationals is a massive step forward. The health and social care sector looks forward to government proposals for new migration systems which we hope will place greater weight on the contribution international recruits make to the health and wealth of our local communities.”