NHS 'could not cope without foreign staff', nursing chiefs warn

The NHS “could not cope” without foreign staff, experts have warned.

The advice from nursing chiefs comes as new figures show a huge spike in EU nationals taking up positions at UK hospitals

Around one in five nurses recruited in England this year and last year were non-British EU nationals - up from one in 14 in 2011/12.

Over the same period the proportion of British nurses joining hospitals dropped from roughly 78 per cent to 70 per cent.

The Royal College of Nursing said the figures showed nurses trained abroad made a "critical contribution" to the health service, while the British Medical Association said the NHS could only benefit from widening its overseas "talent pool".

New analysis by the Press Association has revealed the extent to which the NHS in England is increasingly dependent on EU workers to meet demand for new staff.

Of the 33,000 nurses recorded as joining hospitals this year and last year, just over 6,000 held an EU nationality other than British. Some 1,750 were Spanish, 1,300 Italian and nearly 1,000 Portuguese.

The findings, based on data published by NHS Digital, also suggested that in the same time period around one in 10 midwives joining hospitals were non-British EU nationals, up from one in 20 in 2012/13.

Also, some 20 per cent of newly-recruited speciality doctors were EU nationals, along with 17 per cent of speciality registrars and seven per cent of foundation year doctors

And, just over 10 per cent of the total staff joining NHS hospitals held EU nationality. In 2012/13 the proportion was six per cent.

The rights of EU citizens to continue to work in the UK is likely to be one of the key areas of the Brexit negotiations.

The Government has yet to clarify the future status of the 2.2 million non-UK nationals employed in this country.

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt this week told the Conservative party conference that he wanted EU nationals working in the NHS "to be able to stay post-Brexit".

Donna Kinnair, director of nursing, policy and practice at the Royal College of Nursing, said: "Nurses trained in other countries have contributed to the NHS since its inception.