UK Earnings and Savings From Hiring EU Medical Professionals

doctors leaving

At Medbelle, we interact with a range of UK health professionals originating from countries within the European Union on a daily basis.

Right now the government is facing the monumental task of preparing Britain for Brexit, and every industry will face its own set of challenges and require reinvention and evolution. The medical industry in particular operates on a great deal of talent sourced outside of the UK, so we wanted to shine a light on how it will be impacted by Britain leaving the EU, so that those in charge can take the steps necessary to ensure the continuing livelihood of the NHS and British medical care.

The table below reveals the average number of EU-born foreign-trained doctors and nurses who worked in the medical profession in the UK between 2014 - 2018.

We have calculated the amount generated from tax contributions, in addition to how much money the UK government has saved by not needing to educate these people from a young age. The overall savings and earnings column reveals an approximation of how much money the UK government has gained from hiring medical professionals around the EU.

To put the overall savings and earnings into perspective, which stand at over £3 billion, this is the equivalent of running the entire British government (including salaries) for 5 and a half years.

doctors
medical professions icon Medical Professions
europe icon Average numbers per year from EU countries (2014-2018)
taxes icon Taxes from income over 5 year period (GBP)
education icon Savings from overseas education (GBP)
overall income icon Overall income and savings (GBP)
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Foreign-trained doctors

Stock (Average 2014-2018)

11,159

580,220,488

425,025,514

1,005,246,003

nurse icon

Foreign-trained nurses

Stock (Average 2014-2018)

31,202

899,743,544

1,188,368,201

2,088,111,745

total icon

TOTALS

42,361

1,479,964,032

1,613,393,715

3,093,357,747

doctor icon

Foreign-trained doctors

Stock (Average 2014-2018)
Average numbers from EU
11,159
Taxes from income
580,220,488
Savings from overseas education
425,025,514
Overall income
1,005,246,003
nurse icon

Foreign-trained nurses

Stock (Average 2014-2018)
Average numbers from EU
31,202
Taxes from income
899,743,544
Savings from overseas education
1,188,368,201
Overall income
2,088,111,745
total icon

TOTALS

Average numbers from EU
42,361
Taxes from income
1,479,964,032
Savings from overseas education
1,613,393,715
Overall income
3,093,357,747

METHODOLOGY

This study is designed to show an approximate indication of how much money the UK has saved and earned over a 5 year period (2014 - 2018) based on the number of foreign-trained doctors and nurses originating from the EU who immigrated to the UK, and worked in the medical professional at the time of recording. The total amount of money saved is calculated by looking at how much it would have cost to educate this group of professionals in the UK, as well as the total amount of tax contributions that they would have contributed.

The calculation for this total amount saved and earned is as follows: Overall Savings & Earnings = (Number of Foreign-Trained Doctors & Nurses from the EU x Taxes From Income (between 2014 - 2018)) + (Average Number of Foreign-Trained Doctors & Nurses from the EU (2014-2018) x Cost to Educate).

SOURCES
  • Foreign-Trained Doctors - Stock (Average 2014-2018): Number of doctors (practising physicians) from other EU countries in the UK (excluding Northern Ireland, as these numbers were not reported) who have been trained abroad. It refers to the average number during the years 2014-2018. Source: OECD 2018
  • Foreign-Trained Nurses - Stock (Average 2014-2018): Number of nurses (practising nurses) from other EU countries in the UK (excluding Northern Ireland, as these numbers were not reported) who have been trained abroad. It refers to the average number during the years 2014-2018. Source: OECD 2018
  • Taxes from income (2014-2018): Income tax calculated for each year (2014-2018) based on the average salary for doctors and nurses, multiplied by the number of foreign-trained doctors and nurses (per year) and summed up.
  • Average Salary: Median Salary for Medical Doctors, assuming 5 years of experience in their field. Median Salary of Professional Nurses, assuming 5 years of experience in their field. Source: Wageindicator.org
  • Cost to Educate: Public spending on Education per student for primary, secondary and tertiary education multiplied by the average number of foreign-trained doctors (2014-2018) and foreign-trained nurses (2014-2018). Source: OECD 2016
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