The NHS has recruited 4,000 Asian nurses to replace EU staff who have quit since the 2016 Brexit referendum, figures show.

The number of EU nurses plunged by around 3,000 – but that gap has been filled by the arrival of nurses from the Philippines and elsewhere in Asia.

Six per cent of all NHS staff and one in ten doctors were from the EU in March this year, according to the Office for National Statistics.

In response to falling NHS nursing numbers after the 2016 referendum, health bosses recruited 4,000 Asian nurses (stock image)

It said 1.9million people were employed in healthcare occupations in 2018, with Britons making up 88 per cent of the workforce and non-Britons 12 per cent.

They were evenly divided between EU nationals and non-EU. It added: 'The proportion of non-British nationals in the healthcare workforce has remained broadly stable since 2012.'

The ONS said European citizens are more likely to work in private healthcare. There were more than a million NHS health staff in March this year.

Six per cent were nationals of EU countries and eight per cent of countries elsewhere in the world.

Migration Watch UK said: 'The Government has committed to training more UK medical professionals but the ONS data clearly show that this has not led to more opportunities for UK workers.'