Proposed immigration changes risk destabilising 12,000 healthcare support workers and worsening radiography shortages, the SoR has warned.
The SoR, alongside NHS Employers and other health unions through the Strategic Partnership Forum, has warned the Home Office that proposed settlement restrictions could cost the NHS £169 million in visa sponsorship costs and deepen the recruitment crisis.
Under the government proposals, international healthcare support workers could face a wait of up to 15 years to settle permanently in the UK instead of the current five.
'Set on the wrong choice'
Dean Rogers, SoR executive director of industrial relations, said: “We are simply nowhere close to having enough UK trained professionals in the pipeline to switch off international recruitment. We have to redouble our efforts to do this if we are to beat the NHS radiography workforce crisis.
“Reneging on the contracts we offered recently recruited, internationally trained professionals would have a devastating, insurmountable impact on our workforce and, consequently, on patients, from increased diagnostic waiting times to cancer treatment times.”
He continued: “The immigration changes are openly designed to reinforce a hostile environment and make the UK a less welcoming workplace. It is a clear choice by this government. If it remains set on the wrong choice, then it can’t meet its ambitions for the NHS or social care.”
The SoR warned the policy also risks creating a ‘two-tier workforce’, damaging morale and pushing experienced healthcare professionals out of the health service entirely. It urged ministers to retain the five-year pathway to settlement and protect international recruits across all grades.
The SoR is finalising a comprehensive parliamentary briefing for the Home Affairs Select Committee to highlight the critical threat these visa restrictions pose to cancer treatment, diagnostic services and wider NHS recovery.