Wired-GOV Newswire (news from other organisations)
Printable version

Welsh NHS Confederation statement on EU referendum

The Welsh NHS Confederation comments on the result of the EU referendum

Vanessa Young, Director of the Welsh NHS Confederation, said: “While we adapt to the new circumstances, the priority for our members in Wales will continue to be delivering the best care for patients.

“The implications of last week’s referendum result are yet to be clearly understood. We recognise as the Welsh NHS Confederation that this will bring both opportunities and challenges.

“The NHS in Wales, like the rest of the UK’s health systems, has broadly benefitted from being in the EU and, at a time when we are facing unprecedented challenges around managing demand and the retention and recruitment of the workforce, this uncertainty is unlikely to help in our work to address some of these.

“The NHS in Wales is more than a system which treats us when we’re ill. We must remember the work of the health service in communities, as well as its contribution to national and international agendas.

“While it is impossible to predict the full impact at this stage, we know that this decision could affect recruitment and economic stability. There may also be impacts on research – an area Wales has worked hard developing in recent years. 

“NHS Wales relies on the contribution of not only UK citizens in health and care, but also the vital contribution made by those from right across the globe. It is important that we value the contributions made by staff from the EU who work in the health service and they must be made to feel welcome. If we are to deliver high quality care for patients, we must have a workforce that is united and feels valued.

“The NHS Confederation, through our European Office will be working in Brussels and the UK to ensure the needs of the NHS and its patients are understood throughout this process.”

Share this article

Latest News from
Wired-GOV Newswire (news from other organisations)

Free, Secure, Compliant UK Public Sector IT Recycling Service