29 Mar 2017

Staffing must be a Brexit priority

A coalition of leading health and social care organisations has responded to the triggering of Article 50 by calling on the government to safeguard the UK’s ability to recruit and retain staff with the skills needed to deliver high-quality health and social care to local communities. The Cavendish Coalition, of which VODG is a member, has set out what the Government needs to focus on during EU withdrawal negotiations to maintain safe, high quality health and social care services. The group have written to the Secretaries of State for the Home Department, Exiting the European Union and Health offering to work with the Government to help inform a future immigration system where public service value is used as a key assessment of ‘skill’ as opposed to salary, and which guarantees the status of EU staff already working in health and care.
The coalition is also calling for a straightforward and responsive transitional system for people from the EEA during the period between any ‘cut off’ date after which EU nationals coming to live and work in the EU will not be guaranteed leave to remain and having a new and operational immigration system.
Find out more about the Cavendish Coalition and VODG's programme of work on managing sector risks and issues.