Staffing at Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust not impacted by Brexit

Analysis from the Bureau of Investigative Journalism has found staff from the EU make up 8.7 per cent of all staff, including 12 per cent of doctors, 10.2 per cent of nurses and health visitors and 10.2 per cent of midwives.

A Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust spokesperson said the trust was recruiting nationally and locally to fill vacancies.

The trust runs Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Woolwich, University Hospital Lewisham, a range of NHS community services in Lewisham and some services at Queen Mary’s Hospital in Sidcup.

“We value our staff from the European Union and to date have not seen any impact on staffing levels due to Brexit. We continue to support our EU staff to remain in employment at the trust, including paying the settlement scheme charge of £65, and we are recruiting locally and overseas to fill our vacancies,” the said.

This comes after senior figures in the NHS warned recruitment from Europe has dried up, with a potential for knock-on effects on waiting times, operating theatre capacity and beds at hospitals across the country. 

Health secretary Matt Hancock gave assurances in August that the government would have six weeks’ supply of medicines, and that there was no need for stockpiling, in the “unlikely event” of a no-deal Brexit.

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The Home Office launched a toolkit to assist employers in reassuring and supporting EU citizens already resident in the UK and their dependants to apply for settled status earlier this year.

Doctors and nurses are exempt from the cap on skilled worker visas, which means there will be no restrictions on the number of doctors and nurses who can be employed through the Tier 2 visa route, according to government documents.