University of Surrey study suggests that EU nurses leaving the UK due to uncertainty triggered by the Brexit leave vote could have contributed to almost 1,500 additional patient deaths per year. The study looks at 131 acute NHS hospitals between June 2016 and May 2019, during which time there was a ‘staggering drop’ in the number of EU nurses joining the NHS. Researchers suggest EU nurses were replaced by less experienced or skilled staff, which changed the skill mix at these hospitals and resulted in adverse outcomes for patients.