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The NHS is now recruiting fewer than half the number of EU nurses because of Brexit .

Data shows Europeans wishing to practise here plunged dramatically from nearly 6,000 a year to 2,779 following the EU referendum in 2016.

And that trend continued with 2,313 coming here in 2017-18 and only 15 more the following year.

Shocked shadow health minister Justin Madders said: “These figures are staggering.

“The NHS already has a massive shortfall in nurses. These shortages continue to affect patient care with longer waiting times and cancelled operations.”

(Image: Parliament uk)

Dame Donna Kinnair, Royal College of Nursing chief executive, said: “This dramatic drop is worrying.

“Nurses from Europe were put off by the uncertainty about rights and how welcome they are in post-Brexit Britain. We can ill-afford to lose staff this way.”

Numbers in the UK applying for nursing degrees is 25 per cent down on 2016 when bursaries were abolished.

A new £5,000 grant to help student nurses does not start until September.

There are now 43,000 unfilled nursing jobs in England, 3,600 in ­Scotland and 1,600 in Wales.

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In the light of coronavirus, nurses are desperately needed yet six out of 10 say that already they cannot provide the level of care they want to. And student nurses in their final year will plug gaps.