The Consequences Served Hot with the Impacts of Brexit

This article is constructed on the possible impacts of the implementation of Brexit and the ultimate threat this may have on NHS’s workforce in the future.

The Brexit have taken forms of several sayings that may possibly bring justice to UK’s economic state and strong concerns from various institutions of the threat they cannot eliminate.  The health service has a chronic workforce shortage, and the government’s hostile approach to immigration has made a difficult situation worse says Richard Vize on an article published by the guardian on May 2018. Prior to this article, Haroon Siddique mentioned on an article published in Feb 2018 on The Guardian that 1:11 posts are unfilled totalling to almost 100,000 vacancies to be unfilled. 

The alarming situation made sources to establish their request – with chronic workforce shortages now overshadowing financial pressures as the biggest problem facing the NHS, it is vital for public services that the Brexit deal allows the health service to recruit and keep European talent. In addition, Richard Vize points out that EU staff makes up about 5.6% of the NHS workforce in England; this includes 41,000 working staffs. Moreover, 9% are doctors in England qualified in EU countries.

The medical industry has been struggling with shortage of medical professionals for a long period of time. Recent years, it has faced many factors that changed the dynamics of the operations for temporary staffing agencies including cap rates, London Pan rates and IR35. IR35 has changed the work style of the operation for the business and the income for the candidates, it has made a huge adversary that still yet to overcome. With this colliding situation still taking shape and causing drastic changes in the number of doctors working, it is without a doubt a colossal moment to think what Brexit could to do the industry.

Richard Vize has also stated that ‘We don’t recruit from abroad simply to make up the numbers. The NHS wants to attract people from across the world who are at the forefront of developments in medical science, technical skills and ways of delivering care’. Brexit has already plagued with impression for foreign candidates that there will be no long-term career in the UK. Recently Heather Stewart reported on May 2018 on The Guardian that Theresa May blocking requests to allow in more overseas doctors for NHS. Currently, we have not only made the leakage of medical professionals worse but also restricted the incoming candidates.

If the stubborn hostility towards recruiting from overseas continues, the results will not just be seen in the chronic levels of vacancies. It will sap the talent of the teams and institutions that provide the intellectual leading edge of our healthcare system. To compound the problem, more home-grown talent will look overseas if our top hospitals cease to be regarded as international centres of excellence. - Richard Vize public policy commentator and analyst