Key Summary
- Two in five international health workers are considering leaving the UK, citing a lack of safety and a feeling of being unwelcome.
- The survey of nearly 1,900 staff found that 25 percent do not feel welcome in the country, while 20 percent explicitly feel unsafe due to the current political climate.
- Unison has called on ministers to scrap plans to treble the settlement period, warning that mounting visa fees and shifting rules make it impossible for families to plan their futures.
The UK’s health and care services could face a serious human resources crisis as a survey shows that two in five or 43 percent of the international health staff are considering leaving the country.
The survey, conducted by trade union Unison, found that the growing anti-immigrant rhetoric made by politicians was making many immigrant healthcare staff unsafe.
Unison warns that the tightening of settlement rules for immigrant workers will make it harder for migrant workers to settle in the country. The mounting visa fees and restrictions may worsen the NHS staffing crisis.
The survey was conducted among 1,900 international health staff who came to work in the UK.
It also found that a quarter did not feel welcome and a fifth felt unsafe.
Respondents highlighted the uncertainty factor as a hindrance to planning for the future in case rules changes, forming an unsettling impact on their families.
The union’s head Helga Pile said: “The UK’s health and care services would collapse without the skilled workers who’ve come here from overseas. How we treat them matters – they should be respected, not taken advantage of and abused.
“It’s shocking so many NHS staff say they don’t feel safe or welcome in this country.”
She urged the ministers to rethink the anti-immigrant policies for migrant health and care staff.
“Politicians of all stripes need to stop demonising people who are doing crucial work, often for very low pay. They’re the ones shoring up the UK’s crumbling health and care sectors. We simply cannot do without them,” she said.
