Doctors have said leaving the EU is “bad for Britain’s health” as they endorsed a public vote on the final Brexit deal.

A motion opposing Brexit, supporting membership of the European single market and calling for the public to have a final say on the terms of the deal was passed at the British Medical Association (BMA) annual meeting in Brighton on Wednesday.

The motion said the deal should be put to the public “now that more is known regarding the potential impact of Brexit on the NHS and the nation’s health”.

Dr William Sapwell, who proposed the motion, said: “The fact is that the government is woefully underprepared to ensure the United Kingdom’s health and wellbeing is secure in time for the self-imposed deadline of 29 March 2019. Brexit is bad for Britain’s health. Let’s put that on the side of a big red bus and once we have made that clear, the public should vote on the deal.”

The Royal College of Nursing and the Royal College of Midwives have already supported calls for the public to have a final say on Brexit.

Dr John Chisholm, of the BMA’s medical ethics committee, told delegates Brexit was “a disastrous act of national self-harm”. He said the EU was better for the NHS, public health, research, science, universities, access to pharmaceuticals and international cooperation in research.

“We need to speak out about the damage Brexit will do to our patients and to healthcare professionals,” he said.



Dr Paul Williams, a GP and the Labour MP for Stockton South, said support for the motion was “a sign of the growing momentum behind the people’s vote campaign”.

He said nobody voting in the EU referendum wanted to harm the NHS but that Brexit was already causing severe problems in staff recruitment and retention.

“Instead of the £350m a week for the NHS we were promised by the Brexiters, we have had cuts and closures as the NHS loses staff and struggles with budgets that are limited by the Brexit economic squeeze,” he said. “If Brexit actually happens, it seems certain it will only make things worse – with new drug treatments, investment in research and sustainable funding all under threat.”

Uncertainty about their status has been blamed for a Brexit brain drain of health workers from the EU27 countries, exacerbating the NHS’s chronic staffing crisis.

Last week the government announced details of its registration process for EU citizens who want to stay in the UK post-Brexit but the BMA has called for clarity on the immigration system after leaving, which it says must ensure the NHS can recruit the staff it needs.

A spokeswoman for the union said the vote reflected the uncertainty around what the implications will be for doctors and the health service. “Though concerns were raised prior to the Brexit vote, no one could have imagined the extent of the complications such a result would bring,” she said.

“However, in light of what we know now, it is imperative that the public has a say in any proposed Brexit deal.”