It was shocking news to know that the Home Office refused to issue visas to 100 Indian doctors who were recruited for the NHS to relieve pressure on the health services in 30 NHS trusts in the north west of England. NHS directors revealed limits on the number of non-EU doctors have led to longer waiting lists for patients. UK Chief executive of NHS Employers Danny Mortimer told the BBC since December there were 400 cases of blocked visas of overseas doctors.
There are currently 100,000 vacancies across England in the NHS, and 234 in acute, ambulance and mental health trusts. This is an absurd situation when there is such a chronic shortage of doctors, nurses and support staff in the NHS, the Home Office has become an stumbling block for the long suffering patients. This action does not make any sense, to cope with the immediate requirement. So the Home office need to look urgently into this matter and not get bogged down by red tape and bureaucratic hurdles. They have to give top priority to issuing the visas to fill in the much needed vacancies of doctors and nurses. The standard of medical care is deteriorating and NHS is struggling to cope with growing and changing pressures.
GPs are another in-demand specialty, with The Independent revealing numbers fell by 1,000 full-time staff despite a pledge to increase them by 5,000 by 2020. Professor Martin Marshall, vice chair for external affairs at the Royal College of GPs, said: “These BMA findings are the latest example of how desperate we are for more doctors and other healthcare professionals across the health service, and more funding for general practice and the NHS generally. Dr Nagpaul added: “As doctors, we want to be able to provide the best possible care for patients, but access and quality of care are being affected by staffing and financial pressures.
What is needed now is long term planning and proper funding of the NHS. The present situation is not sustainable and conducive for running a good health service.
Baldev Sharma
Rayners Lane, Harrow.
