4,000 European doctors left UK's health services after Brexit

More than 4,000 European doctors have decided not to work with UK's National Health Service (NHS), worsening the country's shortage of doctors after Brexit, recent research said.

There are four specialties, including anesthetist, pediatric, cardiothoracic surgery, and psychiatry, with known ongoing recruitment and retention issues, where staffing data also show a proportionately high number of staff from the EU and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) countries before Brexit, according to the research published on Sunday by the Nuffield Trust.

In 2021, a total of 37,035 European doctors were working in the UK, the stats showed, 4,285 lower than the projected number of 41,321 if Brexit did not happen.

"The findings suggest that stagnation in the number of EU doctors in these specialties has exacerbated existing shortages in areas where the NHS has not been able to find enough qualified staff elsewhere," the research said. "While deeper research into drivers of migration is needed, it appears likely that the decision to leave the EU in 2016 plays a role."

Tokyo stocks drifted lower as investors awaited fresh news after a US market holiday for Thanksgiving. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index opened nearly flat then inched down 0.29 percent, or 81.60 points, to 28,301.49 in early trade, while the broader Topix index slipped 0.24 percent, or 4.87 points, at 2,013.93.

Japanese shares appeared vulnerable to profit-taking following recent gains, but also benefited from broad support after some European markets advanced overnight.

The dollar stood at 138.63 yen, little changed from 138.39 yen in London.

"Today it will be key to see if the Nikkei can maintain the stability it displayed until yesterday, given current conditions which are conducive to profit-taking," Monex said in a note.