Especially disabled people who need help with everyday tasks have problems finding appropriate nurses, as the Observer reported on Sunday. “We usually recruit more than 100 (nurses) a year. Now it’s around 50, ”said Peter Henry of Origin, an organization that recruits nurses for people with spinal disorders. The situation has worsened dramatically since July. Henry attributes this to the end of the application period for the so-called Settlement Scheme. The program aims to give EU citizens who lived in the country before Brexit largely the same rights as before.
Otherwise, after Brexit, employees from the EU will no longer be able to work in the UK without a visa. This must be approved by an employer. According to the organizations, many of the caregivers who live with and care for the disabled come from abroad. In the meantime, applications have to be rejected on a regular basis, says Peter Henry. Katy Etherington, who runs the PA Pool personal care staff database, also told the newspaper that British applicants could not make up for the lack of European staff.
The organization Disable People Against Cuts had asked the government months ago to introduce more flexible immigration rules for the industry. The government has so far refused.