A campaign has been launched calling on the government to let foreign NHS workers stay in the UK.
The Home Office announced on Monday it will extend the visas of frontline NHS workers by a year if they are due to expire before October. Some 2,800 doctors, nurses and paramedics working in the NHS right now will have their visas extended. The Home Secretary said the plan would let workers ‘focus on fighting coronavirus’.
Now, a petition has been launched calling on the government to grant the workers indefinite leave to remain.
Three frontline NHS doctors have already died from coronavirus in the UK. In Italy, some 50 medics working on the frontline have been killed.
The petition says: “Doctors, nurses and paramedics from all over the world are playing a leading role in the NHS’s efforts to tackle coronavirus and save lives. We owe them a great deal of gratitude for all that they do.
“We already know the NHS is understaffed. Why would we potentially get rid of these valuable workers, who have put their lives on the line to work in the service, once the coronavirus crisis is over?”
The petition ‘Grant frontline NHS workers indefinite leave to remain in the UK‘ is being hosted on Change.org.
