This story was first published in digitalhealth.net
‘No sense’ in turning away trained doctors
Labour has said that the Conservative Party’s controversial decision to refuse foreign doctors visas is directly damaging NHS patient care.
Recent reports have suggested that Prime Minister Theresa May rejected calls by senior ministers to relax the rules on migration, after it was discovered that 100 medical professionals from India, who were due to start work in hospitals in the north-west, were refused entry even though NHS trusts said they needed them to help staff their wards.
Jonathan Ashworth, Labour’s Shadow Health Secretary, said that the ban, which could possibly cover at least 400 doctors since December, is now directly damaging NHS patient care and highlights May’s ‘hostile environment’ policy. Ashworth has now written to new Home Secretary Sajid Javid urging him to radically overhaul the system to benefit the NHS.
Ashworth said: “It makes no sense whatsoever that the government is turning away trained doctors who want to come and work here in the UK. Theresa May’s hostile environment policy is now directly damaging NHS patient care.
“The NHS is facing a massive workforce crisis. More than 100,000 NHS posts are now unfilled and vacancy rates for nurses and doctors are rising year on year, yet the government is refusing visas for trained staff from overseas because of the rules drawn up during Theresa May’s time as Home Secretary. The visa rules clearly aren’t working in the best interests of NHS patients. Ministers ought to be doing more to keep patients safe and their priority should be making sure hospitals can get the right numbers of staff in place.”
Latest News
16/02/2024 - 12:56
Hammersmith and Fulham Council has created a new alliance intended to clean dirty air and improve residents' health.
16/02/2024 - 10:44
Two million more GP appointments a month are being delivered for patients compared to the same month before the pandemic as part of the NHS primary care access recovery plan according to new NHS data.
15/02/2024 - 10:26
The Welsh Government has provided innovation funding of £380,000 to support two projects utilising technology in domiciliary care.
15/02/2024 - 10:13
The new Scottish health secretary has met with frontline staff at Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow.
14/02/2024 - 10:27
The North East London NHS Foundation Trust (NELFT) has appointed three new Executive Directors to the Trust Board.
Product Features
UK Building Regulations highlight toxic gas and smoke from layers of paint built up over multiple redecorations as a major cause of permanent ill health or death in a building fire.
Their concern rose with discovery the flame retardant paints most widely used paint along escape routes have been ones which to this day counter-productively use emission of heavy toxic gas to smother flames which rapidly spread along walls if layers of paint delaminate in a fire.
Supplier Profiles
Northwich’s Victoria Infirmary (VIN) Community Diagnostic Centre (CDC) has enabled more patients
Adveco, the commercial hot water specialist, announces the launch of live metering of domestic ho
Latest Features
Sarah Greenslade, public affairs and communications officer at the British Parking Association looks at some of the problems and innovations in healthcare parking
It’s easy to assume that the comms team is there to handle press enquiries and the occasional social media storm – but the reality is that strategic communications can make a measurable impact across the entire organisation, from operational to financial, when done properly
