Brexit could be ‘disastrous’ in Scotland

Recruitment and retention of NHS staff is a “real issue”, according to Professor Colin Fleming, interim associate medical director for surgery with NHS Tayside.

He said the Dundee and Aberdeen conurbations tended to struggle because they were perceived by many UK doctors as “lying geographically outside” core parts of the country.

Attracting staff to the rural hinterlands where communitybased facilities were vital was also a challenge.

However, he said a key was not just selling the area to would-be recruits as an attractive part of the world, but actually by creating “really attractive and interesting jobs”.

It’s a strategy supported by Professor Dilip Nathwani, director of the Dundee-based Academic Health Sciences Partnership, who is at the forefront of Growing the Tayside Biomedical Cluster – a collaboration which aims to create wealth, sustainable job opportunities and improved health outcomes for Tayside and beyond.

Highlighting the energy of staff and innovation, he believes in greater tri-partite work between the NHS, academic and industrial sectors.

Ongoing Brexit uncertainty also had to be managed. Last week, BMA Scotland warned that “cutting off” the supply of EU medics after Brexit will have a “disastrous” impact in Scotland.