British Health Secretary expresses admiration for foreign staff amid immigration reform calls
British Health Secretary Matt Hancock has expressed his admiration for staff who have come from overseas to work for the NHS while calls continue for immigration reform for medical workers during the pandemic.
People born overseas make up a quarter of all UK hospital staff, according to figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), but have accounted for a “disproportionate” number of Covid-19 related deaths, Mr Hancock said.
During Sunday’s daily coronavirus press conference, Mr Hancock said: “Yesterday I highlighted the fact that, tragically, a disproportionate number of those in the NHS that have died are people who came to make their lives here and work in the NHS and have given their lives working in the NHS, and I pay tribute to them.
“I think it’s fair to say that my admiration for those who work in the NHS, whether they come from overseas or were born here, it doesn’t matter, my admiration is unparalleled.”
Mr Hancock’s comments come after the chair of the British Medical Association (BMA) called on the Home Secretary Priti Patel to grant indefinite leave to remain to all international doctors, which would remove restrictions on their ability to stay in the UK.
In a letter to the Home Secretary, BMA council chairman Dr Chaand Nagpaul called for the Home Office to grant indefinite leave to remain to the families of overseas medical staff who die in the pandemic.
He highlighted that many international doctors and healthcare staff may have to pay a surcharge for their own healthcare due to their immigration statuses.
The BMA chair said: “It is unfair to expect doctors currently outside of the UK who are willing to come to help in the crisis and other international doctors and healthcare workers already in the UK, who are prepared to risk their lives while providing care in the NHS, to pay for that care should they themselves need it.”
In the letter from April 3 sent to the PA news agency on Sunday, Dr Nagpaul also asked the Government to grant special dispensation to medical students and healthcare workers to allow them to change employers and work in different areas without requiring another visa.
ONS figures released in December showed that around half of the increase in the health and social care workforce over the last decade has been from workers born outside the UK.
A House of Commons briefing published last year also found that 13.1% of NHS staff in England say they are not British.
Around 153,000 staff self-reported their nationality as non-British, with 21,000 people reporting their nationality as Indian and more than 18,000 saying they are Filipino.
Some changes to the immigration rules have already been announced by the Government.
A visa allowing doctors, nurses and health professionals from overseas to work in the NHS was introduced last month after a new points-based immigration system was also announced, with points awarded for specific skills and professions.
The Health Secretary said that the new visa for overseas medical staff was introduced “precisely as a reflection” of the respect shown to those that had come to work for the health service.
Dr Nagpaul welcomed guidance from the Home Office which will allow medical professionals to extend their visa for a year without charge.
The extension will apply to around 2,800 migrant health professionals who are working for the NHS and have UK work visas which are due to expire before October 1.
