It comes after a national campaign, including academics from The University of Manchester and legal experts, who challenged the previous restrictions in court
The previous policy restricted asylum seekers to jobs on the ‘immigration salary list’, excluding most health professions, including doctors and nurses
The government is making major changes to immigration rules which will allow some asylum-seeking doctors, nurses and other health professionals to work in the UK.
It comes after a national campaign, including academics from The University of Manchester and legal experts, who challenged the previous restrictions. The rules, which affect asylum seekers who have waited 12 months or more for a decision on their initial claim, come into effect on March 26.
The previous policy restricted asylum seekers to jobs on the ‘immigration salary list’, excluding most health professions, including doctors and nurses. The change that policy follows legal proceedings which highlighted that highly qualified, NHS-ready clinicians were unable to work in shortage specialties despite clear workforce need.
Get MEN Premium now for just £1 HERE – or get involved in our WhatsApp group by clicking HERE. And don’t miss out on our brilliant selection of newsletters HERE.
One of the leading voices in the campaign was the Refugee and Asylum Seekers Centre for Healthcare Professionals Education (REACHE), directed by Dr Aisha Awan, a senior clinical lecturer at The University of Manchester and Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust.
Dr Awan said: “As we continue to witness increasing displacement of people by conflict and global events, we must ethically address that doctors, nurses and health professionals becoming deskilled is a huge loss to humanity. Alongside being economically counterproductive, undermining NHS workforce capacity and negatively impacting mental health and integration.
“At a time of increasingly hostile rhetoric around migration, it’s been important to show the impressively positive impacts of this programme on the NHS and patients. I’m immensely proud to be part of our University which supports this sort of positive and impactful change. Our success demonstrates how evidence, persistence and coalition-building can influence systems, no matter how big the resistance to change.”
Displaced clinicians at REACHE receive specialist language, clinical and acculturation training alongside strong pastoral support, enabling them to secure regulatory registration and safely return to practice within the NHS.
The campaign group involving academics from the University of Manchester, and legal experts
Undergraduate students from the University’s school of Law, Medicine, Computer Sciences and Languages attended the judicial review hearings as part of a learning project. Maria-Ioana Dicu a second year computer science undergraduate, was one of the undergraduates to observe how research, evidence and advocacy connect within real-world policy debates.
She said: “These doctors resilience and desire to help others was incredibly powerful and their fight to practice shows the impact you can have if you step outside your comfort zone, even against all the odds.”
Legal representatives challenging the policy came from Garden Court Chambers and Bhatt Murphy Solicitors Stephanie Harrison KC, Garden Court Chambers, said: “Our clients were highly qualified doctors who wished to provide their skills to NHS patients in need. One of our clients was able to take up a role that had remained unfilled for over a year.
“This is an important step but the full removal of restrictions still recommended. It is important that policy is guided by reason and compassion, recognising both the contribution individuals can make and the wider needs of society.”
Becky Hart, from Bhatt Murphy Solicitors, said: “We are glad the Secretary of State has agreed to amend her policy to expand the jobs those claiming asylum can work in… to include doctors, nurses, and other skilled occupations.”
