More than 4,000 European doctors have opted not to work in the NHS following the Brexit vote in 2016, research has revealed.
According to analysis from the Nuffield Trust health think tank, the pre-Brexit number of doctor specialists working in the NHS in 2021 was forecast to be 41,321. However the research, which was conducted on behalf of The Guardian, shows the actual figure for 2021 to be 37,035 – more than 4,000 less than the pre-EU referendum projections.
The Nuffield Trust says that while the effect is “subtle”, it is “inarguable” that registration of doctors from the EU and the four European Free Trade Association (EFTA) members (Norway, Iceland, Switzerland and Lichtenstein) “was slower in the years after 2016 than the years before”.
