The head of Britain's medical professionals has issued a stark warning that the National Health Service is being put at serious risk because overseas doctors and nurses increasingly view the UK as an "unwelcoming, racist" country.
A 'Hostile Environment' for Healthcare Workers
Jeanette Dickson, chair of the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges, stated that anti-migrant rhetoric, negative media coverage of immigration, and aggression from both colleagues and patients are creating a "hostile environment". This atmosphere is deterring vital international medical graduates from joining the NHS and driving existing staff to leave.
Dickson, an NHS consultant clinical oncologist, explained that the pervasive narrative in politics and media paints foreigners in a bad light. She argued that from an outsider's perspective, the combination of Britain's retreat from Europe, attacks on places of worship, and political messaging makes the country appear deeply unwelcoming. "Why would you go somewhere where people are going, 'we don't need you, we don't want you'?" she asked.
Rising Racism and Falling Recruitment
The consequences of this environment are showing in stark workforce data. Record numbers of foreign-born doctors are quitting the NHS, and the post-Brexit surge in arrivals has stalled. Over the past year, there has also been a sharp fall in the number of nurses and midwives joining the health service.
This trend is alarming given the NHS's historic and growing reliance on overseas staff. Since its founding in 1948, the health service has depended on international talent, but this dependence is now at its peak. General Medical Council figures reveal that 42% of all UK doctors qualified abroad.
The situation on the ground is deteriorating. Selina Douglas, chief executive of the Whittington Health Trust in London, reported a rise in racism, with long-serving overseas nurses being racially abused and even spat at near the hospital.
Policy Priorities and Global Competition
Dickson suggested that government policy is exacerbating the problem. She claimed the Labour government's approach of prioritising UK medical graduates over international ones for specialist training places sends a damaging signal. This policy is a key issue in the ongoing dispute with junior doctors in England.
This stance may prove shortsighted in a global market for medical talent. Doctors and nurses have highly portable skills, and countries like Canada, Australia, and New Zealand are actively recruiting. If the UK is not seen as welcoming or safe, professionals will simply choose alternative destinations.
Dickson delivered a grave warning about the sustainability of the NHS without its international workforce: "If we have significant outward migration, and continue with the rhetoric nationally that immigration is bad... then I do worry about us coming to a point of not having a critical mass of people there to run the service safely." She urged Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Health Secretary Wes Streeting to publicly affirm the value of foreign-born NHS staff.
In response, a Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson reiterated the NHS's zero-tolerance stance on racism and its gratitude for international staff. However, they defended the policy of prioritising UK graduates for specialty training roles, stating it was right for British taxpayers to see a return on their investment in homegrown talent.
