Brexit would threaten NHS, Hunt warns

A vote for Britain to leave the European Union (EU) would threaten the NHS, Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt has warned.

Writing for the Observer, Hunt warned that leaving the EU would risk investment in the NHS, lead to falling standards and could trigger an exodus of vital overseas staff.

Hunt drew attention to the fact that the NHS budget was already under large pressure, and suggested that funding levels can only be maintained if the economy remains strong. He said that those who back brexit must ‘explain how they could protect the NHS from this economic shock’, citing economic surveys from the CBI, the London School of Economics and Oxford Economics that warn brexit could have an adverse impact in Britain’s economy.

He also suggested that a vote to leave could cause up to 100,000 skilled EU workers to leave the health and social care system in the UK, as they would be put off remaining in the country due to uncertainties over visas and residence permits.

Hunt’s comments have been attacked by Matthew Elliott, the chief executive of Vote Leave, who has accused the Health Secretary of ’scaremongering’ and suggests that leaving the EU would unlock funds that could be used to improve the health service.

However, former Health Minister Norman Lamb has backed Hunt’s comments. He said: “I don’t agree with Jeremy over the current funding of the NHS. I’ve been very clear that I’d like to see the government investing more in the NHS and social care. But we could not even have that debate if we vote to leave the European Union.

“Leaving Europe could be disastrous for our NHS and other public services. The sizeable negative impact on the economy will have an inevitable, damaging knock-on effect on our ability to fund the NHS and social care. It is simply a risk we should not take.”