'Nice to feel appreciated by the government...’

Steve Barclay has been slammed for saying the NHS relies ‘too much’ on recruiting overseas workers, in his latest article in The Sun where he laid out his solutions for the NHS workforce crisis.

The Sun article titled, ‘The NHS is too hooked on foreign doctors and nurses – here’s how I’m going to fix it, says Steve Barclay’, left doctors feeling insulted and under-valued for their crucial contribution to the NHS.

The piece comes as the delayed Long Term Workforce Plan is set to be launched by the government this week, which plans to address training and retention of staff in the NHS.

The Sun newspaper focused on Steve Barclay’s comments on recruiting people from abroad as an issue behind the current NHS workforce crisis.

In response, critics have asked why the health secretary is choosing to place emphasis on NHS staff coming from overseas, rather than listen to health unions’ plea for better pay which they have highlighted as a huge issue in retaining current NHS staff.

Others have questioned how launching a workforce plan can be taken seriously when promoted in a tabloid, and without acknowledging concerns by unions representing NHS workers.

One Twitter user wrote: “Steve can find £1 billion to double medical school places, when medical schools are at their limit, and where there isn’t enough space to accommodate all the students currently on placement, instead of improving doctors’ pay to better retain staff?”

In his article, Barclay said: “Despite the huge scale of its workforce, I know there are problems with vacancies, workload, and we rely too much on recruiting people from abroad.

“This will be backed by significant investment so we can begin the process of ensuring the NHS workforce is ready to meet the future challenges.”

He added: “By doing this, we can make sure the NHS has the staff it needs to provide the care patients expect, as well as providing greater resilience to potential future shocks, such as a pandemic.

“We are equipping the NHS with the tools, techniques and treatments it needs to face its future challenges head on.”

However, the British Medical Association has repeatedly emphasised the need to increase junior doctors’ pay to tackle the crisis in NHS staff retention and recently warned there could be the largest exodus of doctors in the history of the NHS, if the workforce crisis is not addressed urgently.

One doctor wrote in response to the article: “This is brilliant news for Auz. Unless there is sustained improvement in real terms pay + T&Cs, we will simply lose more of our Drs – at every level – to more attractive countries.”

Another said: “NHS is hooked on foreign doctors. Nice to feel appreciated by the government…”

Whilst another Tweet responded: “I think you need to be updated on the NHS and what the frontline staff think. The NHS could not have existed without the foreign nurses and doctors from the Commonwealth. The problem is poor pay, which government does not want to do. Secondly, it is toxic work culture and racism.”

Barclay mentions celebrating the 75^th anniversary of the NHS this summer, however failed to mention how the NHS was built on the recruitment of overseas staff. By 1971, 31% of NHS doctors in England were born and qualified overseas, whilst the largest source of NHS recruitment in nursing during the post-war years came from the Caribbean.

So, without migrant workers, the NHS would simply not exist as it is today.

A recent survey of BMA members found that 53% reported making plans to leave or were thinking about leaving the NHS as a direct result to the government’s response to industrial action.

Whilst 80% of people surveyed blamed the government for the dispute and a further 10% blamed Steve Barclay personally, suggesting Barclay should look closer to home when choosing who to target when it comes to crises in the NHS.

Hannah Davenport is trade union reporter at Left Foot Forward

Left Foot Forward’s trade union reporting is supported by the Barry Amiel and Norman Melburn Trust

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