Working in the NHS - Immigration to Britain - Year 6

The National Health Service (NHS) in Britain is a significant employer, with over 1.3 million individuals on its payroll as of mid-2022. When examining the ethnic diversity within the NHS workforce, it is noted that 74.3% of staff with a known ethnicity are white, while the remaining 25.7% are from various ethnic minority backgrounds, not including white minorities. A closer look at the composition of professionally qualified clinical staff shows that 68.7% are white and 15.9% are Asian, highlighting that more than a quarter of NHS employees are from families that immigrated to the UK.

Immigration trends have seen a considerable shift in recent years, with the number of work visas granted in 2022 reaching 267,670, almost doubling the figure from 2019. This significant increase is attributed to the rise in long-term sponsored work visas and 'Temporary Worker' visas. Over half of these visas were issued for 'Skilled Worker' and 'Skilled Worker - Health and Care' categories, with Indian nationals being the most common recipients. 'Seasonal Workers' visas also saw a dramatic increase, with the quota expanding from 2,500 in 2019 to 40,000 in 2022, accounting for nearly half of all 'Temporary Worker' visas given to principal applicants. Additionally, there has been a growth in the proportion of dependants receiving work-related visas, rising from 29% to 37% over the same period.