A Question for EU Leavers re NHS

[ohwell02]

I understand many Leavers feel EU immigration is too high. I wonder why then for the last 20 years or so they have been (and still are) using medical services provided by doctors and nurses from the EU?

Mostly I've seen an Indian ophthalmologist and a Turkish dentist.

For a start, I don't believe I've been seen by a doctor from the EU in the last 20 years - don't know about EU nurses though. But they won't be missed when they're gone. Plenty of doctors and nurses from the Commonwealth and non- Commonwealth countries of the rest of the world are only too eager to work in the UK; as in other trades and professions.

I've been treated by far more doctors/nurses from outside the EU than from other EU countries. If they're able to come to work in the NHS, then people from the EU will be able to come to work in the NHS.

Its not as if you get a choice about who treats you
I care about fluent English and medical competency

I should imagine they are aware. They don't live under a rock any more than you do, OP.

You do realise that immigration via work permit (ie how it is for non-EU nationals) is fine for many?

And that the NHS already has many staff on that kind of system?

I think this thread counts as scaremongering, and betrays a level of ignorance of work permits and how they are already in use.

(But perhaps OP has indeed only been seen by EU nationals, not everyone's experience of NHS will be the same)

What all the PP have said.

The only time that I've come across lots of EU nationals in a hospital/doctors office has been in the waiting room. This country is now in the ridiculous situation where we're employing immigrants in order to treat immigrants.

OP, are you suggesting that you’d expect Leave voters to refuse treatment based in their HCP’s nationality? Judgemental much?

I'm more than happy for working immigrants to be here. It's not one of the reasons I voted Leave.

By the by, I haven't been treated by any EU HCPs in the past few years. My doctor, dentist, midwife, consultant obstetrician etc are all English. The nurse that administered my ds's vaccinations was South African though. Very lovely too.

It's patently ridiculous and untrue to suggest we have all been kept alive by medical staff from the EU as by far the greater majority are from outside the EU. Remainers are increasingly showing their desperation if they need to make up crap like this.

Also second what Sedona said.

I just wondered what other peoples experiences have been.
I have just had a years treatment for cancer inpatient and outpatient.
I had c 8 scans at 3 different hospitals and approx. 75% of the staff were foreign but not EU.
In one hospital c 40% of all staff incl Consultants were EU whereas in another 75% were non-immigrant.
Prior to this medical episode on the 2 previous occasions (10 years ago) all the Consultants and c 30% of the nurses were immigrants.
My old Gp practice is 75% non-migrant doctors but my new Gp surgery (opened 8 years ago) is the opposite.
So to me it looks like we rely on immigrants for a comprehensive medical service.
I think we rely on immigrants a great deal in medicine

We do. When they all decide to leave we won’t have the replacements. As for robbing developing countries of their trained staff - how unbelievably mean and smug can we get? We really shouldn’t do this. Other countries need their staff! We could lessen our demand for the NHS by taking greater care of ourselves. That may be an idea worth considering?

People don't, for the most part, have any problem with immigration. The concerns are with uncontrolled immigration. Allowing freedom of movement and hoping for some doctors and nurses amongst them doesn't even begin to address the problems freedom of movement cause in the NHS.

When they all decide to leave we won’t have the replacements

Why would Australian, Nigerian and Phillipino nurses leave when we leave the EU?

Other countries need their staff!

I have read that the Phillipines deliberately train up far more medical staff than they'll ever need in full knowledge and support that loads will move abroad. They've turned it into a kind of industry to allow people to be trained up to get well paid jobs abroad which means they can then send money back home.

It isn't good enough to treat nurses badly, then hold our hands up in desperation and say "oh, well, no one wants to be a nurse."

We need to be funding British nurses and we need to be treating them properly.

Having spent part of today in a large teaching hospital hospital.

Most of the non UK medics / nurses / technicians were also non EU.
Most of the non UK porters / cleaners / support staff were EU
About half of the folks with ID badges on were non UK

The "hostile environment" approach of the Home Office is impacting on all forriners.
There are not enough unemployed Brits to take the jobs that the EU bods do - minimum wage, crap hours, crap terms

So even if the Indian doctors stay, there may be nobody to mop the floors and serve the meals.

No one is going to leave. We will pay them more. BoJo promised us ... though I'll have to ask him why he just voted this down in the Great Repeal Bill.

What do you all think?