RCSEd Concerns on No Deal Brexit and Healthcare Qualifications
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The College is extremely concerned about the potential effect a no deal Brexit could have on UK healthcare and patient safety. One area of concern is the mutual recognition of professional qualifications which currently allows EU doctors’ qualifications to be accepted across the EU. It has been confirmed that the Mutual Recognition of Professional Qualification Directive will continue until 2020. Following this, further legislation comes into effect which will enable UK regulators to continue to recognise EEA and Swiss qualifications.
It is essential that the qualifications of doctors, and other healthcare professionals, continue to be recognised permanently following a Brexit. Doctors from the EU are essential to the running of the NHS and will remain a key resource in the years to come. We need to ensure it continues to be as easy as possible for the NHS to recruit EEA doctors, the alternative is an NHS under even more strain due to falling numbers of doctors.
RCSEd President, Professor Michael Griffin OBE, said:
“The NHS is under extreme pressure at the moment and one of the major causes is a recruitment crisis within the medical and nursing workforces. Teams are working harder than ever and it is vital to ensure that surgical teams are fully staffed in order to operate safely and ensure patient safety. A no deal Brexit and along with it the potential for disruption to the recruitment of medical and nursing staff could be extremely damaging to the NHS and have a knock-on impact on patient waiting times for elective operations. The Government must ensure that the recruitment of EEA medics and nurses is not hampered following Brexit.”
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About The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh
RCSEd was first incorporated as the Barber Surgeons of Edinburgh in 1505, and is based in Edinburgh and Birmingham. It is one of the oldest surgical corporations in the world with a worldwide membership of almost 29,000. The majority of our members practice across the UK, with 11,000 professionals based in England and Wales. The College also has a significant global presence with 11,000 members in over 100 countries worldwide.
The College promotes the highest standards of surgical and dental practice through education, training and examinations, its liaison with external medical bodies and representation of the modern surgical and dental workforce. It is also home to the UK’s only Faculty of Surgical Trainers, open to all those with an interest in surgical training regardless of College affiliation.
Find RCSEd here www.rcsed.ac.uk, on Twitter www.twitter.com/RCSEd, on Facebook www.facebook.com/rcsed and Instagram https://www.instagram.com/RCSEd/
Issued by Beattie on behalf of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh. For further information, please contact the team on rcsed@beattiegroup.com or Emma Bain on 07730 415 096.
