Brexit victory raises questions about UK care sector's future

Britain’s decision to leave the European Union with a majority of 52 per cent, was a divisive issue for voters from the care sector just as much as it was for the country as a whole.

Martin Green, the chief executive of Care England, told carehome.co.uk that he would not make a public statement on the EU result, since there had not been a consensus within Care England’s membership on the EU.

The economy

The win for Brexit sparked the loss of a Prime Minister on 24 June, with the value of the British pound nose-diving at one point to $1.32, a level not seen since 1985. Prime Minister David Cameron, his voice cracking, told the nation a new leader ‘should aim to have a new Prime Minister in place’ by the start of the Conservative party conference this October.

In response to the EU result, Vic Rayner, executive director of the National Care Forum, which represents not-for-profit health and social care providers, said in her blog published on 24 June: “Like many of you – I am reeling this morning from the decision by the UK to leave the European Union.

Care sector workforce

“Already members are coming back to me with thoughts about long term issues around workforce including impact on capacity, sustaining a united workforce, dealing with anxieties of European staff and more. There are worries about what this will mean for the ongoing care of residents currently living in Europe.”

EU migrants make up an estimated six per cent of jobs in the social care sector in England. Concerns have been raised that a greater staffing shortage could occur because the supply of workers willing to take on care jobs would be less.

NHS

It is estimated 55,000 out of the 1.2 million English NHS staff are EU citizens, including doctors, nurses, paramedics, pharmacists, support workers and those in admin roles.

The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) estimated that a vote to leave the UK would mean NHS spending would be £135 lower per head, than if the UK were to remain in the UK. The EIU said close to 10,000 doctors and 19,000 nurses in the NHS who come from EU countries would have an uncertain future as a result of the leave result.

In response, Niall Dickson, chief executive of the General Medical Council (GMC), said “Withdrawing from Europe will have implications for the way that we regulate doctors but we understand that the vote to leave the EU will have no impact on the registration status of any doctor already on the register.

“We will now explore how doctors from the EU will be granted access to the UK medical register and how any concerns about those doctors will be shared between us and other countries."

The EU referendum result prompted the chief nursing officer for England, Professor Jane Cummings, to reassure EU nurses in the NHS who have raised concerns about their future. Professor Cummings said: “I wanted to take this opportunity to confirm to all EU nurses, midwives and care assistants working in England’s health and care system that you are valued and hugely appreciated."

Stephen Dalton, chief executive, NHS Confederation, which has nearly 500 members across health and social care, said: "The NHS has broadly benefited from being in the EU and leaving it will undoubtedly have implications which are yet to be clearly understood.

“It is impossible to predict the full impact at this stage, but clearly it is vital that our Government seeks a strong, nuanced agreement with the European Union that recognises how interwoven NHS and EU policies have become.

“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.”

Polling day

There was a 72 per cent turnout for the EU referendum, which included postal votes and visits to polling stations. Older people were just as crucial to the referendum result with the ‘grey vote’ having decided the UK’s last General Election. A survey by Lord Ashcroft of 12,369 referendum voters after they had cast their ballot showed 60 per cent of those aged 65 and over voted to leave the EU. The majority of voters in Wales voted with England to leave the EU, while Scotland and Northern Ireland voted to remain.

There are 1,089 care homes registered with the Care Quality Commission in Wales. On the subject of getting older care home residents voting, one staff worker at a Welsh care home said “We didn’t make any preparations for voting. Many of our residents don’t have the capacity to vote. We leave it to the families of residents to do that.”

However, other care homes said they had been encouraging their residents to vote.

People with disabilities

On the subject of what the result means for those with disabilities, Fiona McGhie, a public law expert at law firm Irwin Mitchell said: “Membership of the EU offers a large degree of protection for people with disabilities because of its directives on equality. However, if that protection was removed by a vote to leave the EU, people with disabilities would still benefit from the CRPD [UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities] and the ECHR [European Convention on Human Rights].

“It is unlikely that Equality Act would be repealed should the UK leave the EU, as we would still need to comply with the other international conventions which we have ratified. However, people with disabilities would not benefit from any further directives or regulations that the EU issued on disability rights and would be reliant on domestic legislation and common law."

Ongoing care sector EU Referendum poll

Carehome.co.uk and homecare.co.uk can also reveal the result of its ongoing EU Referendum online poll.

Readers were asked 'Will the health and social care sector be better off under Brexit?'

On 24 June, 11 per cent voted 'Yes' and 89 per cent voted 'No'.

If you have not voted on the poll, you can cast your vote by clicking here