Visa block on recruitment of foreign doctors and nurses removed

As predicted, doctors and nurses coming from abroad to work in the NHS will be excluded from the cap on so-called "Type 2" Visas.

This is a limit on the number of skilled workers from outside the EU who can be given Visas to come to the UK in any one year. When this was first introduced a few years ago the cap was rarely reached but recently it has been hit and one of the consequences has been to impede the recruitment of foreign doctors and nurses for the NHS, which has been a problem in many parts of the NHS including here in Cumbria.

Following lobbying from many parts of the country including a combined approach from all six MPs representing Cumbria, Home Secretary Sajid Javid agreed to look at this again and this week it has been announced that the government is changing the rules so that medical staff coming to work in the NHS will no longer be affected.

This is great news which will make it easier to recruit the skilled professionals which hospitals like West Cumberland Hospital need.