Foreign doctors and nurses are increasingly turning away from the NHS as anti-migrant rhetoric and rising racism make the UK feel like a “hostile environment”, the head of Britain’s medical profession has warned.
Jeanette Dickson, chair of the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges, said overseas health professionals are leaving the NHS in record numbers or choosing not to come at all, putting the future of the health service at serious risk.
Overseas staff leaving NHS in growing numbers
Dickson said the NHS depends heavily on international doctors and nurses and could struggle to function safely without them. She warned that the service could “quite easily fall over” if the current trend continues and the UK loses its critical mass of overseas staff.
Her comments come as new workforce data show a sharp slowdown in post-Brexit international recruitment. The number of foreign-born doctors joining the NHS has stalled, while the number of nurses and midwives arriving from overseas has dropped significantly over the past year.
According to figures from the General Medical Council, around 42% of doctors working in the UK qualified abroad, highlighting how reliant the NHS has become on international recruitment.
Racism and hostile rhetoric blamed
Dickson said overseas health workers are being deterred by aggressive political rhetoric about migration, hostile media coverage, and rising racism within society and the NHS itself.
She said international medical graduates face racist abuse from patients and colleagues, while minority ethnic NHS staff are increasingly targeted outside work. Some foreign-born staff now feel unsafe in their everyday lives in the UK, she added.
Her concerns echo warnings from NHS leaders in London and elsewhere who have reported a rise in racial abuse, including incidents involving staff being spat at or harassed while travelling to work.
Impact of Brexit and immigration policy
Dickson said the UK’s retreat from Europe following Brexit and repeated political messaging that immigration is a problem have damaged Britain’s reputation abroad.
She warned that doctors and nurses considering moving to the UK increasingly see the country as unwelcoming and racist, especially when compared with destinations such as Canada, Australia and New Zealand, which are actively recruiting overseas healthcare staff.
At the same time, the Labour government’s plan to prioritise UK-trained doctors for specialist training places has added to concerns among overseas graduates. Dickson said this policy, combined with pay disputes and heavy workloads, is pushing foreign doctors to look elsewhere.
Training priorities and workforce risks
Health ministers argue that prioritising UK graduates is necessary after years of underinvestment in domestic medical training. However, Dickson said the policy risks backfiring at a time of global shortages of doctors and nurses.
She warned that many overseas staff who might previously have come to the UK are now choosing not to apply, while others already working in the NHS are leaving for better pay, conditions and quality of life abroad.
Doctors and nurses, she said, have highly portable skills and strong international demand, making it easy for them to leave if they feel unwelcome or unsafe.
Government response to concerns
Health secretary Wes Streeting has previously warned patients that abuse of NHS staff will not be tolerated, saying access to free healthcare does not include the right to racially abuse workers.
The Department of Health and Social Care said the NHS benefits hugely from international staff and has a zero tolerance approach to racism. A spokesperson said the government remains committed to attracting overseas talent while also ensuring British taxpayers see a return on investment in UK medical training.
Call for clear political leadership
Dickson urged Prime Minister Keir Starmer and senior ministers to publicly and repeatedly affirm that foreign-born doctors and nurses are welcome in the UK.
She said overseas NHS staff are essential not only to patient care but to the wellbeing of their colleagues, warning that without them the health service would be overwhelmed.
Unless the tone around migration changes, she said, the NHS risks facing a staffing crisis that could undermine patient safety and the long-term stability of the health service.
