Health systems in the UK have a long standing dependency on international staff, and over the decades this has tended to intensify at times of shortage. Today is no exception, but this period of shortfall coincides with departure from the European Union (EU)—causing rapid, and at times, concerning changes in patterns of recruitment.

Three years ago, on 31 January 2020, the British flags that had flown outside European Union buildings for over 40 years were lowered. The then prime minister Boris Johnson had “got Brexit done.” Except he hadn’t.

A bit of Brexit ideology means we are falling behind Europe on protecting the public and the environment from toxic chemicals. And it can only get worse.

Brexit uncertainty adds another dimension of disruption to a health service already struggling with the unknown legacy of a global pandemic

Leaving the EU will damage health in this country where it was suffering the most before the pandemic, and where covid-19 hit it hardest, says Martha McCarey.

DAN WHITE gives a personal account of how Brexit is already impacting the disabled.

Without free trade with the EU, British health services are set to face grave challenges throughout the second wave of coronavirus and beyond.

Everyone is fishing in the same pond. Stocks built up in readiness for Brexit are having to be replenished. If another pandemic strikes, we’ll hardly be in the best position to get through it.

Nobody ever said that a no-deal Brexit would badly affect our ability to deal with the global outbreak of a viral illness. Well, apart from the British Medical Association in 2018. And the Faculty of Public Health, in 2016 before the referendum was held.

The decisions made in these trade talks will define the health of the UK’s population as well as the country’s environment and economy for years to come.

It may soon be open season on the NHS for private US healthcare companies, writes Professor Harry Burns.

The BMA has detailed the likely consequences of Brexit, in a series of Brexit briefings, most recently today [02 Sep 2019]. All of the briefings warn of the harm that Brexit could do.

If Brexiteers had been more honest, arguing we face perhaps a decade of pain to reset our global stance, I would have more respect for them.

The government’s ‘serious shortage protocols’ are a real danger to the British public’s health – and may be illegal.