The figures come from Freedom of Information requests (Picture: PA)

Thousands of NHS staff from the EU have left since Britain voted for Brexit in 2016, data suggests.

In three years, more than 11,600 NHS staff from the EU have left, including 4,783 nurses.

The figures come from Freedom of Information requests submitted by the Liberal Democrats

They asked the 135 NHS Hospital Trusts in England about how many EU staff had left.


The 50 that responded said that more than 3,252 NHS staff from the EU left just between January and October this year, including 1,116 nurses.

In total, the figure is likely to be higher as over half of trusts did not respond to the data request.

The figures include thousands of nurses (Picture: Getty)

The Lib Dems said the number of EU leavers increased by 23% from 3,504 in 2015 to 4,335 in 2017, and levelled to 4013 in 2018, still up 14% on 2015.



Some of the worst affected NHS trusts so far in 2019 include London North West (362 EU leavers), Oxford University Hospitals (304 EU leavers) and University Hospitals Bristol (203 EU leavers).

The Lib Dems also pointed to documents from early 2019 regarding a meeting of the board of directors at the Hillingdon Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, which is in Boris Johnson’s constituency.

In the document from March, under the heading ‘Impact of Brexit; Implications and Actions’, the executive is noted as saying that currently the most significant risk was ‘the anxiety felt by approximately 300 EU nationals in the workforce in terms of their jobs and future at the Trust’.

Luciana Berger said Tory treatment of nurses was ‘shameful’ (Picture: Getty)

Lib Dem health spokeswoman Luciana Berger said: ‘These figures reveal the major threat Brexit poses to our NHS, including in Boris Johnson’s own backyard where EU staff are worried about their future here.

‘The Conservatives’ treatment of NHS nurses and doctors from the EU has been utterly shameful.

‘People looking after our sick and elderly relatives have been left living in unbearable uncertainty, and now the Tories want to clobber them with a nurse tax worth thousands of pounds to come and work in the NHS.

‘This will make the severe staff shortages faced by the NHS even worse and patient care will suffer as a result.

‘The Liberal Democrats will stop Brexit to protect our NHS.

‘We will make clear to staff from the EU that they are valued, tackle the staffing crisis and invest an extra £35 billion in health and social care.’

A Conservative spokesperson said: ‘Since these documents were written, Boris Johnson has negotiated a deal with the EU that would have ended any anxiety felt by millions of people, including EU nationals. The Liberal Democrats voted against that deal, causing more delay and more uncertainty for those whose interests they claim to want to protect.

‘A vote for Jo Swinson will only result in a Corbyn-Surgeon alliance, and two referendums in 2020. That’s not good for the country, and it’s not good for EU citizens living here, who just want to work hard and get on.’

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