More than half of the doctors in the UK from elsewhere in the European Economic Area (EEA) are considering moving countries because of Brexit, according to a survey conducted by Britain's health regulator.The survey of 2,106 continental-trained doctors by the General Medical Council (GMC) found that 60 per cent were considering relocating because of the referendum vote to leave the EU. The results came on the heels of a poll in February by the British Medical Association (BMA) that found about 40 per cent of European doctors – of whom there are about 10,000 in Britain – were toying with the idea of leaving.

Depletion of the workforce

Giving evidence to the House of Commons' health committee, Charlie Massey, GMC chief executive, said that while the survey was “not necessarily predictive of future behaviour”, the results did indicate there could be a serious depletion in the workforce.“It does send a worrying signal in terms of the stock of doctors currently working in the UK,” he said, although he conceded the number of doctors from the EEA – the other 27 EU nations plus Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein – applying for specialist training courses was “exactly the same” as it was before the referendum.Mr Massey said two primary reasons were cited by those considering giving up careers in the UK. “Firstly,” he said, “a question of whether or not doctors felt valued working in the NHS, and secondly, the uncertainty over the continuing future residency status.”

A need to attract overseas doctors

In a statement to the committee, Mr Massey added, “EEA doctors make a huge and vital contribution to health services across the UK. We want to continue attracting overseas doctors in future, and ensure we do not create any unnecessary barriers that would stop them coming here.“It’s deeply worrying that some are considering leaving the UK in the next few years. If they leave, this would have a serious impact on patient care and would place the rest of the UK medical profession under even greater pressure.”

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MP Jonathan Ashworth, the Labour Party's shadow health secretary, said it was “extremely concerning that over half of doctors from the EEA feel so undervalued as to consider leaving the UK following the Brexit vote”.He added, “The skills and dedication of staff from around the world are integral to our NHS and the government must immediately reassure EU nationals of their right to live and work in the UK. If they don’t, we risk facing a serious staff shortage which will only further worsen pressures on our NHS.”Prof Ian Cumming, chief executive of Health Education England (HEE), said that it was predicted that Brexit would have an impact on workforce numbers but he said HEE officials were working to a model of “self sufficiency”. He said that the biggest post-Brexit risk was facing the non-professional workers in the NHS who could be forced to leave the UK.Mark Porter, the chairman of the BMA’s council, warned last week that an exodus of doctors after Brexit could be a “disaster and threaten the delivery of high-quality patient care”.For related news and features, visit our Brexit section.Access hundreds of global services and suppliers in our Online Directory  Get access to our free Global Mobility Toolkit

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