With well over a year since the UK public decided upon Brexit, many industries are still in the dark as to precisely how they will be affected once we officially leave the EU. In fact, there have already been some impacts on the health and social care industry since the 2016 EU referendum, and these could potentially have significant impacts on the industry in the longer term.
According to reports, the number of EU nationals that were working in the health and social care sector had risen dramatically in the years prior to the referendum, with 209,000 EU nationals working in the sector by 2016. However, since the referendum, the number of non-British EU nationals that stated that they worked in the public sector in the UK dropped by 27,000 between January and March this year.
With staff shortages already a significant issue within the health and social care sectors, there is the worry that Brexit will create uncertainty for EU nationals living, or considering moving to the UK for work with regards to their rights in both the short and longer term. Subsequently, skill shortages in this area are likely to intensify. To put this issue in perspective, EU nationals currently make up 7{2f5840df7cad5cef8516045bf5c83cf9550de338e8e836c189eefa8f44836af0} of the adult social care workforce, therefore if the UK was to lose just half of this number, there could be significant impacts to this sector.
The settled status announcement may go some way towards assuaging some doubts, however, as with other industries, definitive answers to questions on the impact that Brexit will have on the health and social care industry are a waiting game as negotiations continue.
To ensure any changes that Brexit will bring to the workforce have as little impact as possible within the health and social care sphere, organisations must begin to prepare as soon as possible. One way in which to do this is to begin to address the issue of staff shortages.
This can be done through further recruitment of health and social care professionals, but also by training and encouraging people into careers within the health and social care industry.
Peel Solutions are experts in health and social care recruitment, get in touch today to see how we could help your business or organisation.