The UK’s New Health Plan will reduce NHS foreign recruitment to less than 10% by 2035. A new 10-year NHS workforce plan, presented by UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, aims to drastically cut down on the NHS’s reliance on foreign healthcare professionals. The new policy aims to reduce the percentage of foreign hires in the NHS to less than 10% by 2035.
Indian nationals make up the majority of the NHS’s abroad workforce, which has historically relied significantly on foreign workers.
The strategy claims that although the NHS has traditionally embraced foreign talent, the system is currently unduly reliant on hiring from overseas. “By 2035, we want to change this balance and bring the percentage of foreign recruits down to less than 10%.”
UK medical graduates will be given preference for foundation and speciality training roles in order to facilitate this shift. The 2020 strategy, which granted postgraduate training spots to foreign candidates on an equal basis with UK graduates, is criticised in the plan for creating an intolerably high level of competition for the few available positions.
The plan has been criticised, though. The British Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (BAPIO) president, Ramesh Mehta, contended that the goals are unachievable. He noted that almost one-third of medical graduates with training from the UK departed the nation last year in search of employment in nations like Australia, Canada, and New Zealand.
“The need for medical personnel will only grow. “There simply won’t be enough domestic doctors to fill the gap if UK graduates are not retained and emigration continues,” Mehta said. “The creators of the plan are in a fantasy world.”
Mehta added that about 10,000 Indian physicians visited the UK last year to undergo screening tests, but many of them have already left since there aren’t enough training positions or employment prospects. He emphasised that merit and dedication to the NHS, not nationality, should determine placements.
This is the breakdown of England’s ten-year health plan.
2025–2026
- New workforce model: Start putting into practice a capability-based new NHS workforce model.
- Clinical trials: By March 2026, cut the setup time for clinical trials to 150 days.
- Surgical innovation: Increase the use of robotic surgery in accordance with NICE guidelines, with the goal of using surgical robots in one out of every eight procedures by 2035.
- NHS leadership model: Introduce a fresh approach to leadership and culture that emphasises responsibility and team-based treatment.
- Digital front door: Start making changes to the NHS App to create a single digital gateway to the NHS.
- League tables: Beginning in the summer of 2025, publish basic, comparable provider performance tables.
2026–2027
- New GP contracts: To promote greater cooperation and patient access, two new GP contracts—one place-based and one list-based—should be implemented.
- By 2027, make sure that 95% of individuals with complex needs have a care plan in place.
- Prevention shift: With an emphasis on prevention and early intervention, Integrated Care Boards should start providing integrated public health services.
- Functions of NHS App: Increase the NHS App’s capabilities to allow for more care self-management.
2027–2028
- By 2028, the NHS App should be transformed into a comprehensive digital gateway to the NHS.
- Enable scheduling into suitable urgent care facilities (for example, through 111 or the NHS App) prior to in-person attendance.
- Budgets for personal health: Keep growing personal health budgets while emphasising the promotion of autonomy and choice.
2028–2031
- Productivity increases: For three years in a row, achieve at least 2% annual productivity growth.
- Training of the workforce: Increase the number of medical speciality courses and nursing apprenticeships that emphasise system requirements and future demands.
- AI-enabled workforce: Redesign training and education programs to incorporate digital literacy and AI across the NHS.
- Financial sustainability: With strong five-year planning, move most providers into financial surplus by 2030.
2029–2030
- Personal health budgets: By 2030, one million people should be receiving benefits from personal health budgets.
- Funding that is outcome-focused: Promote innovative payment schemes that are centred on patient outcomes, such as year-of-care payments.
2030–2035
- By 2035, wearable health technology should be a commonplace component of chronic illness and rehabilitation processes.
- By 2035, outpatient reform should drastically alter or eliminate conventional hospital outpatient models.
- Digital hospitals: By the end of the plan, make sure all hospitals are completely AI-enabled and digital-first.
- Integrated governance: Where possible, bring Integrated Care Boards closer to local democratic processes.
- Genomics and prevention: By 2035, provide a population-wide, prevention-focused genomics service that is accessible to all communities.
CLICK HERE TO READ THE DETAILS OF THE 10-YEAR PLAN.