Brexit: What does it mean for doctors?
The impact
The lack of guarantees for doctors about whether they or their colleagues will be able to remain in the UK after Brexit compounds the challenges of an already demoralised workforce.[8][9] It is likely that Brexit will make it harder for the NHS to recruit new doctors from the EU and the uncertainties about the future immigration system may leave EU doctors from member states needing to obtain visas to work in the UK.
The uncertainty of the government’s planned approach to the UK’s adoption, or otherwise, of current EU rules on working practices and the status of mutual recognition of EU and overseas professional qualifications is likely to increase workforce shortages and cause significant delays and uncertainty for individuals and organisations across the NHS.
The RCP's recommendations
The needs of patients must be paramount and leaving the EU cannot be allowed to put patient safety or the quality of care at risk. The UK must continue to welcome EU doctors to work in the NHS and provide urgent guarantees that EU doctors working in the NHS will be able to permanently remain in the UK following the exit from the EU.
The government must urgently clarify the future landscape for working practices and the approach for mutual recognition of EU and overseas professional qualifications.
The government must take the opportunity to ensure that effective systems are in place to allow the NHS to increase recruitment of doctors from overseas to meet rising demand, including growing the Medical Training Initiative (MTI) by increasing the number of visas available. The government should seek to establish a scheme similar to the MTI for DfID or low and low-middle income non-priority countries, particularly those – such as Australia – that have similar training programmes to the UK and more doctors than training places. The government should also seek to establish a scheme to attract students from particular countries to study medicine on a Tier 4 student visa in the UK.
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