Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the role of European Reference Networks in relation to access to medical health expertise, following the United Kingdom’s departure from the European Union.
United Kingdom patients will continue to access the world-leading rare disease clinical expertise in the UK as they do now, and we will continue to collaborate with international experts. The Government continues to monitor and analyse overall staffing levels across the National Health Service and adult social care, and we are working across Government to ensure there will continue to be sufficient staff to deliver the high-quality services on which the public relies following European Union exit.
From January 2021, the Government will be introducing a new Points Based Immigration System, in order to attract the brightest and best talent from across the world. To further facilitate the migration of skilled workers to support the NHS, there will be a fast-track NHS Visa for certain medical professionals with NHS job offers, including for doctors, nurses and allied health professionals. Details will be announced by the Home Secretary in due course.