A sudden increase in foreign nurses leaving the UK for new positions has raised concerns among British health authorities. In recent months, medical staff in the UK have often protested against poor working conditions and low salaries. The immigration statistics of nurses have reached a record of 12,400 people, which has increased fourfold compared to the year before the COVID-19 epidemic. This article deals with the impact of the UK healthcare visa crisis on medical staff shortage and patients in Britain.
A 25% reduction in immigration to the UK by 2024
The impact of the UK healthcare visa crisis on the British health system cannot be denied. The UK has seen a 25% drop in visa applications on key routes in the first quarter of 2024. The decline in visa applications is attributed to more rigid rules introduced earlier this year to reduce intolerant immigration. Regarding the new figures, former Home Secretary James Cleverly said the plan to reduce legal immigration to the UK was working. Among other things, it was pointed out that the new measures aimed to prioritise British workers.
Impact of the UK healthcare visa crisis on patients
An average of 9,000 nurses born outside the European Union leave the UK every year. The impact of the UK healthcare visa crisis can cause problems for patients. They work in another country. According to statistics, the total number of nurses in the UK who migrate to other countries has doubled between 2022 and 2023. A report by the Health Foundation shows that last year, 12,400 nurses working in the UK applied for the certificate of current professional status (CCPS). This certificate is usually required when a nurse wants to move to work in another country.
Emigration of nurses from the UK for higher income
Most of those leaving the UK go to the US, New Zealand or Australia. Nurses in these countries earn much more than in the UK, sometimes up to twice as much. According to research by the Health Foundation, many of these nurses had worked in the UK for up to three years. Experts say that the British Health Organization gives average salaries to nurses. Therefore, working in the UK is less attractive for medical staff in competition with other countries. A nurse in the UK earns an average of $46,000 in the UK.
The alarming situation of shortage of medical staff in England
America changed its visa policy following the Covid-19 pandemic. After that, the number of foreign nurses who went from Britain to America increased ten times. Low pay and poor working conditions mean the UK’s healthcare services cannot compete globally. Like all nurses, international nurses can choose to work in countries that value their skills and expertise more. It’s no joke that nurses’ wages in the UK are the lowest among the 35 countries of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development.
Doubling visa issuance for foreign medical personnel
The impact of the UK healthcare visa crisis has led to the need to take measures to solve it. The UK is set to almost double the number of visas it issued to foreign medical staff in 2023, data released showed. According to official statistics, the UK issued 337,240 work visas in 2023, 26% more than in 2022. These statistics show that this rate change was due to a 91% increase in visas for foreign medical staff in 2023. Out of 146,477 visas issued for people working in the healthcare field, a little more than 60% of them were for people working in the field of personal care.
The harms of excessive increase in foreign treatment staff in England
The UK has eased visa requirements for foreign healthcare workers from February 2022 to fill more than 150,000 aged care vacancies. However, charities have warned that such reliance on foreign labour increases the risk of abuse. They believe the government can help attract local workers in this field by raising wages.
79% reduction in the number of visa applications for accompanying students
The UK government introduced stricter rules for student visas in January 2024. These measures have affected the number of students and accompanying student visa applications. According to official figures, the number of accompanying student visa applications in the UK between January and April 2024 fell by 79% compared to the same period in 2023. In the first quarter of 2024, Britain faced 30,000 fewer student visa applications than in 2023.
New visa rules for foreign healthcare workers
Sunak’s government introduced new laws to reduce immigration and prioritise British workers. In April 2024, the Sunak government introduced new visa rules for foreign healthcare workers. These rules restrict their family members from entering the UK. Following this move, authorities saw a significant drop in healthcare workers applying for visas. The UK registered 6,400 such applications in April 2024, representing a 58% decrease compared to the same month in 2023.
The alarming trend of the shortage of medical staff in the UK
The impact of the UK healthcare visa crisis has been entirely negative and worrying. According to statistics, Brexit has only decreased European immigration to Britain. For example, between June 2022 and June 2023, 86,000 citizens of the European Union have left the UK. On the other hand, immigration from Africa, especially Nigeria and Asia, including India, China, and Pakistan, to Britain has increased. Experts believe Britain has not made the necessary investments in training its health and medical staff during the past decades. Because of this, Britain has a shortage of medical staff. Britain faces labour shortages, particularly in the health and social care sectors. The health system has entered a crisis with the continued migration of medical staff from the UK.
