Half of doctors from other EEA countries working in UK may leave, poll shows

Almost half of doctors from other European Economic Area countries working in the UK are considering leaving in the wake of the EU referendum result, with almost a fifth having already made solid plans to relocate, a BMA survey has found.

Healthcare leaders expressed deep concern at the results of the poll and urged the government to offer certainty to the estimated 12 000 EEA doctors working in the NHS, who make up 7.7% of the UK medical workforce.

The BMA said that recruitment from elsewhere in Europe had been a crucial means of dealing with staff shortages and warned that NHS services would struggle …