Drop in influx of EU nurses following Brexit, RCN highlights

According to data collated via a Royal College of Nursing (RCN) freedom of information (FoI) request, the number of EU nurses joining the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) register fell to fewer than 200 per month compared to nearly 800 a month in 2015.

A separate FOI request has revealed that 2,700 EU nurses already working in the UK left the NMC register in 2016, following the Brexit vote.

RCN outlined that NHS hospitals and community services have increasingly relied on international recruitment due to a shortage of British nurses.

It also cited that one in three nurses are expected to retire in the next 10 years and 24,000 nursing posts are currently unfilled in England. 

Janet Davies, RCN chief executive & general secretary, said: “EU nationals working in the NHS need a clear signal from Theresa May that they are wanted and welcome to stay. Her failure to guarantee their right to remain is leaving soaring numbers heading for the door. Few are able to live with such uncertainty.

“The government is turning off the supply of qualified nurses from around the world at the very moment the health service is in a staffing crisis like never before. They cannot afford to lose the international workers the NHS relies on.”

The news comes as Prime Minister Theresa May is set to trigger Article 50 on 29 March.

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This story was first published in digitalhealth.net

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