- 04 December 2019
- 4 min read
Quarter of hospital staff born overseas raises concerns over immigration policies
SubscribeThere is a ‘very real risk’ that proposed election policies will make it more difficult to bring staff into the NHS, a think tank is warning.

Half of health and care workforce new recruits from overseas in last decade
Around a quarter of UK hospital staff were born abroad, according to new figures showing how immigration has helped stop “almost unimaginable” shortages in the NHS workforce.
Around half of the increase in the health and social care workforce over the last decade has been from workers born outside the UK, according to figures from the Office for National Statistics.
The Nuffield Trust, which requested the data, said the number of staff grew by 446,000 between 2009/10 and 2018/19, with 221,000 of these workers born overseas.
20% of health and care workforce born overseas
People born abroad made up almost a fifth (818,000) of private and NHS staff in the health and social care workforce in 2018/19, compared to 14% of the general population.
And reliance was greatest in hospitals, where 23% (324,000) of workers were born outside the UK.
The think tank is calling on the main parties to “tread carefully with their migration policies” in its new briefing: Stopping the staff we need? Migration choices and the 2019 election.
About this contributor
Nurses.co.uk editorial team
Bringing you a daily update of nursing, NHS, health and social care news from around the UK.
More by this contributorWant to get involved in the discussion?
Log In Subscribe to comment