THE NHS didn’t gain much traction as an issue during the ill-tempered European Union referendum campaign last year, only really becoming a focus when the Leave side notoriously claimed – on the side of a bus – that it could gain £350m a week if we voted “out”. The claim was dropped at breakneck speed once victory had been secured.
What has persisted, however, are the fears that Brexit will precipitate an NHS staffing crisis, and new figures make clear Scotland’s GP service could be particularly hard hit if European doctors decide - or are forced - to leave.
According to the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP), 226 GPs in Scotland – some 4 per cent - were trained in European Economic Area (EEA) countries, which include the 27 EU nations alongside Norway, Iceland and Lichtenstein.
The potential loss of even a proportion of these medics presents a genuine and serious problem for a profession already struggling to train and retain the staff it needs to sustain our primary care services.
The RCGP points out that by 2021 the service is already expected to be running at a deficit of 800 GPs; the further loss of European doctors represents “grave concern for patient safety”, according to its Scottish chair, Dr Miles Mack.
Vacancies at practices have already doubled since 2013, with half still empty six months later. Add to this the fact that more than a third of current GPs are over the age of 50, and it’s clear our GPs, trusted gatekeepers to so many NHS services, are facing a perfect storm.
The last thing they need is the loss of even more colleagues, and the RCGP is now calling on the UK Government to guarantee the status of GPs from Europe, pointing out their leaving could impact more than 225,000 patients in Scotland.
Failure to offer such guarantees already has led many to accuse Mrs May and her ministers of using them and the other more than three million EU nationals living in the UK as “bargaining chips”, and though the EU is keen to come to an agreement on their future, the UK Government appears content to leave them in limbo.
With GP services facing the aforementioned perfect storm, Dr Mack is right to bring the situation to the attention of politicians and patients alike. Scottish Health Secretary Shona Robison was quick to support the RCGP’s calls, demanding that the future of the doctors be clarified, adding that their contribution to the NHS “cannot be overestimated”. Only last year she admitted a redesign of services would be required to ensure sustainability.
But this potential crisis surely also highlights Scottish Government pledges yet to be fulfilled. In October last year, the First Minister announced £500m in extra funds for primary care services; so far only half of that money has been allocated. Unless the full amount of money is made available, it’s hard to see how future GP services will be ready, willing and able offer the quality of care we all expect.
With this in mind, we welcome Ms Robison’s robust words on guarantees for EU and EEA doctors. But we urge her to help avoid a potentially catastrophic situation by following through on her own party’s pledges.
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