New immigration charge ‘could have significant impact on NHS’

The government has been warned that its new immigration charge could result in the NHS losing out on millions of pounds.

In a letter to home secretary Amber Rudd, the British Medical Association (BMA) and the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) have called for overseas health staff to be exempted from the charge to prevent frontline services from being stripped of vital funds.

The proposed immigration skills charge will apply a 1,000 pound annual levy on Tier 2 visas for overseas staff coming to the UK from April 6th onwards. The aim is to reduce demand for migrant labour to increase opportunities for domestic workers.

However, the BMA and RCN said the NHS cannot be treated the same as a business, as the service is heavily dependent on overseas workers in order to provide the quality of care that patients require.

Although efforts are being made to expand the supply of UK-trained doctors, this is a time-consuming process given the training involved, meaning a short and medium-term solution is still required.

The letter said: "It cannot be appropriate to divert funding away from the budget for frontline health services and the training of health professionals in this way."

With over 20 years of experience within the medical devices market, we at Zenopa have the knowledge, skills and expertise to help find the right job for you. To find out more about the current medical device roles we have available, you can search for the latest job roles, register your details, or contact the team today.