Portsmouth Hospitals Trust to pay fee to keep EU staff after Brexit

Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust, which runs Queen Alexandra Hospital in Cosham, will pay £65 for each of its 565 members of staff from the EU including more than 60 new nurses who have joined since September.

Nicole Cornelius, Director of Human Resources and Workforce at PHT, said: '˜Our colleagues from overseas are an integral part of our NHS family in Portsmouth.

'˜They are vital in helping to ensure our patients receive the best possible care and we want to do all we can to make sure they continue to feel welcome here.'

It comes after the Trust, which also runs St Mary's Hospital in Milton, Petersfield Hospital and Gosport War Memorial Hospital, took part in the Home Office pilot EU Settlement Scheme.

The move to meet the fee for its EU staff from March 30, 2019, will cost the trust up to £37,000 if all staff were to take up the offer of a refund.

Theresa Murphy, Chief Nurse at PHT, said: '˜Our staff from the EU are a key part of our workforce. 

'˜We are delighted to have this cultural mix of staff and are proud of their achievements.

'˜Payment of this registration fee is a small acknowledgement by the Trust to recognise their significant contribution.'

The government has committed to protect the rights of EU citizens and their families currently living in the UK which includes the right to live here, work here and access public services such as healthcare and benefits.

However to retain these rights after December 31, 2020, EU citizens must apply for UK immigration status under the EU Settlement Scheme.

Applications are free for EU staff who have a valid permanent residence document or valid indefinite leave to enter or remain.

The scheme will be fully open from March 30 and will close on June 30, 2021.

The three core criteria which applicants will need to meet includes identity '“ verifying their identity and nationality, generally through their passport, or  their national identity card, eligibility '“ establishing that the applicant is resident in the UK and, if appropriate, is a family member of an eligible EU citizen and suitability (criminality) '“ the UK Government will conduct checks against UK criminality and security databases and conduct overseas criminal records checks as appropriate.

EU citizens and their family members can sign up for email updates at gov.uk/guidance/status-of-eu-nationals-in-the-uk-whatyou-need-to-know or visit gov.uk/settled-status-eu-citizens-families