NHS trade unions and charities have warned that immigrant NHS staff are being asked to leave the UK after the expiration of their visas. Their concerns appear in light of concerns raised by Dr. Basem Enany who is currently infected due to coronavirus and his visa is slated to expire next month. While the Home Office had assured that he and his family will not be deported back to Egypt considering his condition, he fears regardless.
The Home Office had previously announced that the visas of that NHS and care workers would be extended for a year free of charge so they could “focus on fighting coronavirus”. But this has only been applied to about 3,000 workers, and left out thousands of care workers and NHS staff including low paid healthcare assistants, hospital cleaners and porters. According to Unison this policy has had a detrimental impact during the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic and at a time when there are 122,000 vacancies in the health and care sectors in England.
Last month, the Doctors’ Association UK (DAUK) called for indefinite leave to remain for migrant healthcare workers and raised concerns about visa processing delays. In a letter, 1,660 doctors and other healthcare workers have protested about the treatment of cardiologist Dr. Enany.
In their letter, they noted, “With 153000 NHS workers reporting a non-British nationality, it is vital that we attract the “best and brightest” to the NHS, or else risk the NHS losing its status as a world class health service. We entered this pandemic severely short-staffed, with over 10,000 vacancies for doctors, and 100,000 for nurses. An immigration policy that acknowledges reality rather than fixed ideologies is vital and essential. In 2020, both the Prime Minister’s and the Leader of the Opposition’s families have been the beneficiary of the exemplary care that such migrant workers provide. This issue is not confined by party politics and should not be treated as such. DAUK hopes that this recognised as such and that this Bill for Indefinite Leave to Remain generates unanimous cross-party support”.
