Jessica O'ConnorThe British Medical Association has warned that proposals by Reform UK to end indefinite Leave to Remain (LTR) will create uncertainty for thousands of international doctors and other overseas health staff, at a time when the NHS is already struggling with severe workforce shortages.
Responding to the announcement, BMA council chair Dr Tom Dolphin said the plan “will cause a great deal of anxiety and distress to our much-needed and valued international workforce, including international doctors, who are the backbone of the health services in the UK and who the population owes so much to.”
Dolphin said it was “outrageous” that people who have already been granted the right to stay indefinitely, and who contribute to the NHS, the economy and their communities, might now face losing that security.
Many more who are working towards permanent residency would see “that goalpost disappearing before their very eyes,” he added.
The BMA has argued that the NHS depends on international staff at every level and warns that even a proposed five-year visa would “send completely the wrong message to those considering coming to the UK to offer their skills to our health services and patients.”
With the UK already losing doctors to jobs abroad, Dolphin said the policy would make Britain “an even less attractive place to practise medicine,” risking further disruption to patient care.
He called instead for “stability and long-term planning to safely maintain our healthcare workforce,” saying that policies which “ignore realities in the NHS will destabilise things further, putting patients at risk.”
