During the Christmas and New Year period, news is often lost, or even purposely hidden, as people spend more time with their families rather than reading newspapers or watching news updates. However, there were a few bits and pieces you probably should be aware of – and Get Britain Out refuses to let the mainstream media let you forget!
Firstly came the news the European Union has barred the British NHS from checking the qualifications of doctors and nurses coming here from the EU. Instead, new rules mean they will be given electronic passports which will automatically allow them to practice in hospitals and doctors surgeries anywhere within the 28 Member States without any prior checks – including when coming to the UK!
The EU will start issuing these passports to nurses, midwives and some other medical staff this year, and doctors in 2018. This means a Bulgarian doctor could apply to work in the UK through Bulgarian authorities, and we would have just two months to verify he has the training and experience he claims to have. It will be up to the individual nations to do back-checks on each applicant – and what if these aren’t carried out properly? Would you like an unqualified doctor, or one which has been banned from practising, performing surgery on you?
As well as this, if the two-month deadline is missed, doctors and nurses will be issued with an electronic passport anyway – regardless of whether the applicant has a previous history of medical wrongdoing or poor care. This is simply wrong – and does not make any sense at all!
UK regulators are really worried the authorities will rush the checks and fail to carry them out properly. The General Medical Council says it takes at least four months to vet an EU doctor. How on earth does the EU expect this to be done in just two – and an additional worry is the different language barriers between the EU nation states.
Potentially thousands of European doctors and nurses will be able to practice in the UK without proper checks on their qualifications. We MUST put a stop to this madness, and quickly. This is yet another, even more important reason for us to Get Britain Out of the EU.
Furthermore, doctors and nurses from inside the European Union will not be tested on their English speaking abilities – Brussels says this would hinder their ‘freedom of movement’ rights. So your doctor might be unqualified, and might not even speak your language or read up-to-date English language medical books – let alone write a prescription the pharmacist will understand!
In the final days of 2015, a pro-EU article by failed banker Sir Victor Blank went unchallenged in the Daily Telegraph. Sir Victor is the ex-chairman of Lloyds Bank, and oversaw the devastating takeover of Halifax Bank of Scotland in 2008. This led to the bank having to be saved by the taxpayer, leading to financial disaster for Lloyds Bank shareholders.
Why would anyone in their right mind want to listen to his opinion on Brexit? It seems only the Blank-minded would consider his argument to be factually correct.
Sir Victor stated it is up to businesses to come out in favour of the EU. Well maybe Sir James Dyson, well-liked entrepreneur and inventor, and Graeme McDonald, Chief Executive of JCB, didn’t receive that memo. Both have, in one form or another, publicly stated their support for less EU – not more – the former supporting a full Brexit!
The Daily Telegraph article brought up the same arguments we Eurosceptics are tired of hearing over and over again. “As a member of the EU, our companies are able to sell, without barriers and tariffs, to a market on the UK’s doorstep of 500 million people.”
This may be true, but it also prevents us from creating lucrative trade deals with other nations around the world. Our EU membership comes with over restrictive red-tape and barriers to our trading with the rest of the world.
As Get Britain Out keeps alliterating, leaving the EU does not mean the United Kingdom will pack up its bags, shut the doors and refuse to interact with anyone else. Switzerland, for example, is not a member of the EU, yet outside the G20 they are one of the highest importers and exporters of goods to nations inside the Union.
In fact, to name a few, the Faroe Islands, Albania and South Korea all have smaller populations than the UK, yet still have their own trade agreements with the European Union. By leaving we could not only trade with the EU on our own terms, but also with those outside it like China, the US and Canada.
So from unlicensed doctors to failed bankers with a nonsense view on the European Union, the quiet post-Christmas period was filled with stories the media, as well as Cameron and his government, hoped we would all miss.
As we enter 2016 and a fingers-crossed approach for Brexit, it is important the Great British Public are made aware of all the facts. When worrying and false stories like these appear, we at Get Britain Out will make you aware of the full truth. We cannot stand around while Brussels allows unqualified doctors and nurses – and some who do not even speak English, from practising and butchering us in the UK. We must Get Britain Out as soon as possible.
Jayne Adye is Campaign Director of cross-party grassroots Eurosceptic campaign group Get Britain Out
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