Brexit has worsened the shortage of doctors in the United Kingdom, leading to an estimated shortage of 4,000 doctors from the European Union in four major specialties, according to a study by a think tank specializing in health published on Sunday 27 November.
The study, commissioned by
The Guardian
, comes as the public health system (NHS) is struggling after years of austerity, with record-breaking hospital waiting lists due to the pandemic. of Covid-19, but also to shortages of doctors and nurses.
A study of four specialties
The Nuffield Trust looked at four specialties - anaesthesia, paediatrics, cardio-thoracic surgery and psychiatry - in which European doctors were particularly represented before the UK's exit from the EU.
In these four specialties, already experiencing tension in their recruitment, "
the increase in staff from the EU or countries of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA, namely Norway, Iceland, Switzerland and Liechtenstein) has slowed
“, shows the study.
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If the trend observed before Brexit had continued, there should have been more than 41,000 doctors from the EU and EFTA registered in 2021, or at least 4,000 more than the figures actually observed.
For the Nuffield Trust, “
the campaign and the result of the (2016) referendum on leaving the EU are the obvious reasons for this change in trend
”.
In question: initially the uncertainty about the new rules for the movement of people, then the tightening of the rules for granting visas, and finally a "
deterioration of working conditions
" in general in the health system.
“
These results suggest that the stagnation in the number of doctors from the EU in these specialties has exacerbated existing shortages in areas where the NHS is unable to find skilled labor elsewhere
,” adds the director. 'study.
