NHS trust running Queen Alexandra Hospital spends £2m on foreign recruitment levy

THE city’s NHS trust has spent £2m on a government levy imposed on employers recruiting specialist foreign workers.
Queen Alexandra HospitalQueen Alexandra Hospital
Queen Alexandra Hospital

Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust (PHU) has paid the cash out under the government’s immigration skills charge since 2017.

It comes as figures show 52 NHS trusts have paid more than £15m under the charge.

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Portsmouth paid the most out of the trusts who responded to a Labour Party information request.

Nicole CorneliusNicole Cornelius
Nicole Cornelius

The charge sees employers having to pay for each foreign worker they employ. It costs around £1,000 for the first 12 months.

Shadow immigration minister Holly Lynch described the immigration skills charge as a ‘stealth tax on our NHS’.

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Ms Lynch said: ‘Local NHS trusts require specialists from overseas, yet the Tories are punishing hospital budgets for their own failure to train enough skilled staff.

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‘The Conservative government should be doing all they can to support the NHS. Instead, they are presenting trusts with an unenviable choice: either leave life-saving specialist roles unfilled, or fork out expensive fees for overseas staff.'

Bosses at PHU, which runs Queen Alexandra Hospital, said recruitment charges mean they have ‘the right staff with the right skills’.

Nicole Cornelius, director of workforce and organisational development, said: ‘We have a long and successful history of recruiting the best clinical staff from around the world to ensure we can meet the needs of our patients, their families and the community we serve.

‘In nursing we currently have one of the lowest vacancy rates in the country and we are sharing our successful recruitment and retention strategies with other organisations.

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‘The investment in recruitment both within the UK and internationally, has resulted in us having the right staff with the right skills to care for our patients.’

A government spokesman added: ‘Right across the immigration system we are supporting frontline healthcare staff through initiatives such as visa extensions and the creation of the bereavement scheme.

‘Our new points-based immigration system, for introduction from January 2021, will go even further to make sure the NHS and wider health and care sector can continue to access the best and brightest talent from across the world.’

Labour sent requests to 224 hospital trusts about the charge – 52 trusts responded.

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