The number of nurses from the EU registering to work in the UK has dropped by 96% less than a year after the Brexit vote, official figures show.
Last July, 1,304 EU nurses came to work in the UK; this fell to just 46 in April, Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) statistics show.
The Health Foundation, which obtained the figures via a freedom of information request, said there was a shortage of 30,000 nurses in England alone, adding that the NHS could not afford such a drop.
Anita Charlesworth, the charity’s director of research and economics, said: “Without EU nurses it will be even harder for the NHS and other employers to find the staff they need to provide safe patient care. The findings should be a wake-up call to politicians and health service leaders.
“Clearly, action is needed to offset any further loss of EU nursing staff in the near future. But the overall shortage of 30,000 nurses is not a shortage caused by the Brexit vote. The chronic shortage of nurses is the result of years of short-term planning and cuts to training places. A sustainable, long-term approach to workforce planning is desperately needed.”
According to the Royal College of Nurses (RCN), there were 656,219 nurses on the NMC register at the end of March, of whom 5.5% (36,615) were from the EU or European Economic Area (EEA).
In recent years, NHS trusts have repeatedly turned to international recruitment to plug staffing gaps. But the RCN says the government’s refusal to guarantee the status of EU nationals living in the UK is exacerbating shortages.
Theresa May has claimed Britain could not unilaterally guarantee EU citizens’ rights as doing so would weaken her hand in the Brexit negotiations.
Janet Davies, the chief executive and general secretary of the RCN, said it was vital EU staff were given assurances about their future.
“We rely on the contributions of EU staff and this drop in numbers could have severe consequences for patients and their families,” she said. “Our nursing workforce is in a state of crisis. Across our health service, from A&E to elderly care, this puts patients at serious risk.
“These figures should act as a wake-up call to the government as they enter Brexit negotiations. EU staff should be left in no doubt that their contributions are welcome and valued.”
The Royal College of Midwives (RCM) said it was “a staggering drop and one that worries the RCM greatly”.
In March, NHS England announced it was launching a nursing training programme to help plug the gap created by the record number of Europeans leaving the health service since the EU referendum. The programme will increase the number of newly qualified nurses by up to 2,200 a year in 2019, when the UK is due to leave the EU.
A Department of Health spokeswoman said: “We understand the need to give valued NHS staff from the EU certainty, which is exactly why we have made clear that the future of those EU nationals working in our health and care system should be a priority in Brexit negotiations.
“We also have over 52,000 nurses in training to ensure the NHS has the nurses it needs.”
