The RCP welcomes visa extension announcement but calls for it to include social care workers too.
The Home Office has announced that more than 6,000 frontline health workers and their families will have their visas extended for a year. This will apply to those whose visas will expire between 1 October 2020 and 31 March 2021.
However, the announcement does not extend to include social care workers.
Responding to the announcement, Professor Andrew Goddard, president of the RCP said: “The support of our international colleagues throughout this pandemic continues to be absolutely vital – we simply could not have coped without them – so we’re pleased and relieved to hear that visas for healthcare workers and their families will be extended. However, this extension doesn’t appear to include social care workers whose work is critical to keeping people safe and healthy at this difficult time.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has meant staff shortages are being felt more acutely than ever, meaning damaging delays to many treatments for patients. If the NHS is to function effectively in the long-term, the health and social care visa must be extended to include all social care staff, and medical school places need to be increased so that we can grow the NHS workforce and deliver the best outcomes for our patients.”
Find out more about the RCP's work on this issue here.
