The Royal College of Radiologists (RCR) has joined the British Medical Association (BMA), the National Health Service (NHS), and 11 other medical royal colleges and faculties in urging the new U.K. home secretary to amend a visa restricting the recruitment of skilled non-European Union medical workers.
The tier 2 visa is a requirement for the hiring of skilled workers from outside the European Economic Area. But since the program hit its cap for the fifth month in a row, hundreds of international doctors, including radiologists, have not been able to take up their posts in the U.K.
Staff shortages in NHS hospitals have limited the number of clinicians available to treat patients, increased temporary staffing costs, and harmed its reputation, according to the NHS.
The RCR and partners have asked that the visa cap exclude applications geared toward reducing the shortage in clinical staff, and they hope for a meeting with the home secretary to discuss the matter.
