UNCERTAINTY surrounding Brexit has seen 37 nurses quit their jobs at York Hospital, according to a York MP.
Speaking during a debate in the House of Commons with Robin Walker, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, Rachael Maskell claimed that out of 40 Spanish nurses employed by York Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, only three remain after their compatriots chose to leave over the insecurity surrounding Britain leaving the European Union.
The trust said out of 60 nurses recruited in 2015 only 20 remain, however, they have no evidence the nurses left because of Brexit.
Ms Maskell, MP for York Central, said: “People are leaving because they don’t have the security with Brexit as the Government has said nothing is agreed until everything is agreed.
“Staff do an amazing job but there’s just not enough of them.
“Hospitals up and down the country have been trying to recruit staff from the EU, but with the threat of Brexit staff have left the trust.
“EU citizens have no security over their future or their family’s future.”
Ms Maskell said the lack of nurses will put the trust under more financial pressure at a time when it is struggling for funds.
It ran out of cash in October and was forced to rely on a loan from the Government, and is also in a capped expenditure process because of a multi-million pound deficit.
“In York we really welcome staff and the skills they have got, but the Government is failing the NHS again by not giving staff the security they need,” Ms Maskell added.
“If you don’t have the staff you have to get agency staff and agency staff pushes up your costs and York Hospital is still in a capped expenditure process.
“It’s a vicious circle and shifts the risk on to the trust from the Government.
“It’s bad for patients, the trust and the NHS, but most importantly it’s really bad for the individuals concerned because they are so uncertain about their futures.”
During the debate in Parliament, Mr Walker said more EU citizens work in the NHS compared to this time last year.
He said: “I refer the Hon Lady to the answers that the Under-Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, my Hon Friend the Member for Wycombe (Steve Baker) gave earlier and to some of the facts that show that there are actually more EU citizens working in the NHS today than a year ago.
“We absolutely have to continue to send the message that we welcome the work that they are doing and that these people make a significant contribution to our country and our NHS.”
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