Government Must Prioritise Visa Reform to Prevent Doctor Staffing Crisis

Following BBC reports that immigration rules continue to hamper Trusts’ ability to recruit overseas doctors, prompt government action from the new Home Secretary is vital to avoid further shortagesat a time when the UK is facing a dearth of home-grown doctors. That’s according to Remedium Partners, a consultancy which specialises in the recruitment of overseas permanent doctors to ease the NHS’ reliance on locums.

Commenting, David Green, Co-Founder and Director of Remedium Partners, says:

“As the BBC article reveals, increasing numbers of overseas doctors are being prevented from starting work due to Tier 2 visas caps being reached. Consequently, we would like to see reform of the current visa system to include a much larger number of specialisms under the shortage occupation list.

“Under the current regime, specialities such as Acute and General Medicine – which include Gastroenterology, Geriatric, Respiratory and Stroke - are not defined as shortage occupations. However doctors in these fields are in just as short supply – if not more so- as those that fall under the recognised shortage occupation lists like A&E, Radiology and Paediatrics.

“Prompt government reform will not only help alleviate immediate staffing shortages, but it will also help Trusts with long term workforce planning strategies to ensure they have the talent they need to contend with future pressures such as the annual winter crisis and the UK’s rapidly ageing population.

“As a consultancy which solely focuses on sourcing permanent overseas doctors we are urging the government to do as much as possible to support this highly skilled talent pool access the NHS at a time when the number of UK medical students is rapidly decreasing.”

For more information, please contact:

Helen Edmundson
BlueSky PR
01582 790 090
helen@bluesky-pr.com

ABOUT REMEDIUM PARTNERS

Established in 2013, Remedium Partners is fast becoming one of the leading providers of permanent and fixed-term doctors into the NHS and HSE across hospitals both in the UK and Ireland. At Remedium Partners, we believe that placing permanent and fixed term doctors, rather than locums, saves the health service time and money. Having placed over 500 doctors since we were founded, we estimate to have saved the NHS in excess of £50M.

With over 20 years healthcare and recruitment experience collectively, our team truly understand the market we operate in and the qualities of our doctors, best matching them to the needs of our clients. The positions we work on require a unique understanding of medical specialties and our team of highly experienced market specialists, both in the UK and India, enable us to source high calibre candidates from around the world.