Posted on: Fri 04-07-2025

The UK government has unveiled a sweeping plan to drastically reduce the number of overseas-trained doctors and nurses working in England’s National Health Service (NHS), a move that could have serious implications for Nigerian healthcare professionals seeking opportunities abroad.

According to the new 10-year NHS workforce strategy, hospitals and GP practices in England will be instructed to cut the proportion of foreign-trained doctors they hire from 34 percent to under 10 percent. The plan prioritizes UK medical graduates for specialty training positions and aims to reduce the country’s reliance on international healthcare workers.

The British Medical Association estimates that around 20,000 doctors applying for NHS training posts this year will be turned away due to limited slots. Many of these applicants include international medical graduates from countries like Nigeria, India, and Pakistan.

The government argues that the current level of international recruitment is unsustainable and unethical, especially as the world faces a projected shortage of 11 million health professionals by 2030. The plan also criticizes the previous administration for allowing foreign-trained doctors to compete equally with UK graduates for training positions, which has led to a sharp rise in competition ratios.

Health Secretary Wes Streeting has been vocal in his criticism of the NHS’s dependence on foreign doctors, calling recruitment from WHO “red list” countries—many of which are in Africa and Asia—immoral.

The new policy is expected to create significant barriers for Nigerian doctors hoping to practice in the UK, while also raising concerns about the impact on Nigeria’s already strained healthcare system.

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