NHS England chief calls for nurses to be exempt from new immigration rules

The current policy advises that non-EU nurses earning less than £35,000 annually, who have resided in the UK for six years, must leave the country.

The policy has been further criticised by the Royal College of Nursing (RCN), which claims the rules are a recipe for disaster that could cost millions in recruitment. Stevens has requested that the Home Office add nurses to the list of occupation shortages, making it exempt from new policies and reconsider the £35,000 threshold. 

The NHS England chief executive spoke about the problem at the Institute of Directors (IoD) annual convention in London. He said: “Understandably we’re having a national discussion about how to get immigration right.

“My responsibility is to point out that, at a time when the need for nurses is growing, when publicly funded UK nurse training places will take several years to expand, and when agency staff costs are driving hospital overspends right now, we need to better join up the dots on immigration policy and the NHS.

“However, most nurses I speak to struggle to understand why our immigration rules define ballet dancers as a shortage occupation but not nursing. And most hospitals tell me the idea that we would seriously consider deporting some of our most experienced and committed nurses solely because they’re not earning £35,000 clearly needs a rethink.”

The RCN has claimed that data suggest that 3,365 nurses, who cost £20.19 million  to recruit could be affected by the immigration policy. Furthermore, the union says that the number could rise to 29,755 nurses, costing £178.5 million to recruit, by 2020 if workforce pressures lead to increased international recruitment.

Danny Mortimer, chief executive of NHS Employers said: “We warmly welcome the important intervention made by Simon Stevens in highlighting the value of migrant nurses and doctors in the NHS who have contributed a significant amount to the way we deliver care to our patients.

“NHS Employers has written to the home secretary, Theresa May, to highlight that many NHS Trusts are facing a shortage of nurses going into winter as the Home Office refuses to grant visas to nurses from outside the EU.”

Janet Davies, chief executive and general secretary of the RCN, said “There is now a consensus across the health service that the Home Office must make a change.

“It is an irrefutable fact that rising demand for health care, a shortage of home grown nurses, and new rules limiting the use of agency staff mean the NHS is reliant on overseas recruitment to provide safe patient care.

“Ignoring this issue any longer would be irresponsible, illogical and bad for patients.”

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