Kemi Badenoch has issued a warning over NHS recruitment (Image: Getty)
Health chiefs must start training more British doctors and nurses and end their reliance on foreign medics, Kemi Badenoch has declared. The leader of the Conservatives said it is “very strange” that the UK “cannot staff” a national institution like the NHS with “homegrown people”.
And she hinted the Tories could scrap the requirement for nurses to have a degree, comparing it to the requirement for police constables to have attended university or study a course while on the job. Union barons told Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood that a crackdown on migrant settlement rights would lead to an exodus of staff, hitting patient care.
But Mrs Badenoch told LBC: “It’s not normal. I think it’s very strange.
“How can it be that we have an NHS that this country is supposedly proud of, and yet we cannot staff it with homegrown people?
“Of course, we will need people from other countries from time to time, but if you’re telling me that the NHS will collapse without immigration, it means it’s not structured properly.
“What we want to see is an economy where people earn high wages and we have low immigration. Immigration that we need, not just that we can’t survive in our economy unless we have immigration. You can’t sustain an economy like that.”
And Mrs Badenoch suggested nurses should be paid more, to encourage more British people into the profession.
She said: “If the NHS can’t survive without immigration, then the model needs to change.
“I want us to start focusing on getting more homegrown nurses, paying them better. In an ideal world, nurses wouldn’t have to go to university, racking up all this debt and so on.
“We’re looking at what we can do around that. We have some ideas on student loans, for example, especially on plan two. But we need to start thinking about what the future looks like.”
Foreign nationals from 216 countries work in the NHS, according to research compiled by the House of Commons Library.
Around 30% of nurses are not British, according to the study. NHS figures show 247,850 of the 370,957 full-time and health visitors are British.
Some 42,169 Indians, 25,000 Filipinos and 12,646 Nigerians hold these roles.
Health Secretary Yvette Cooper given urgent warning (Image: Getty)
For doctors, this increases to around 36%. Some 98,130 doctors are British, compared to 57,980 from abroad.
Some 12,680 doctors are from India, 6,315 from Pakistan and 4,397 from Egypt.
The number of African and Asian foreign nationals in the NHS has doubled since 2010.
Nursing and Midwifery Council statistics show around 21,000 UK-trained students started training courses last year.
But the Nuffield Trust warned of “significant retention issues”.
The organisation added in a research paper: “We estimated that fewer than three in five doctors (56%) in ‘core training’ remained (even in a different role) in NHS hospital and community services in England eight years later, with 24% of this attrition seen in the first two years.”
Health groups warned Labour’s crackdown could lead to an exodus of tens of thousands of foreign doctors and nurses.
And they told the Home Secretary this could have a dramatic impact on patient care.
The Royal College of GPs told an inquiry by the Home Affairs Select Committee: ““It is integral to acknowledge that the NHS workforce is currently heavily dependent on overseas recruitment to fill workforce gaps, without which the service would struggle to operate.”
The Royal College of Nursing even suggested foreign nurses should be given a faster route to settlement.
But Mrs Badenoch said she is focusing on removing barriers to nursing for domestic workers.
She pointed to the requirement for them to have a degree, adding: “We are actively looking at it.
“We had a similar issue in the police. That’s changed.
“I do wonder why we are putting so much debt on young people, and then they can’t get jobs afterwards; when they get the jobs, they’re not earning very much.
“And this is one of the things that Conservatives are very worried about.
“We’re worried about a lost generation of people, and then you have new issues: jobs are disappearing, unemployment is increasing, AI is turning up, taking jobs, and we need to start thinking about what our economy is going to look like.”
KEMI BADENOCH SAVAGES NHS CHIEFS OVER HOSPITALS DOMINATED BY MIGRANT STAFF – ‘NOT NORMAL!’ AS IMMIGRATION ROW ERUPTS
Kemi Badenoch has sparked a major political debate after questioning why Britain’s National Health Service relies so heavily on overseas workers, insisting that the country should be doing far more to train and recruit homegrown doctors and nurses.
The Conservative leader made the remarks during an appearance on LBC, where she was challenged over whether her tougher approach to immigration could leave the NHS struggling to recruit enough staff.
Her response was direct and immediately attracted attention.
“It’s not normal. I think it’s very strange,” Badenoch said, questioning why a health service that Britain is supposedly proud of cannot recruit enough people trained in the UK.
Her comments have reignited a sensitive debate about immigration, NHS recruitment and the future of Britain’s healthcare workforce.
Badenoch Questions NHS Dependence on Overseas Workers
During the interview, presenter Iain Dale described his experience of visiting a hospital ward where every nurse he encountered appeared to have come from overseas.
Badenoch responded by arguing that Britain should not have to depend so heavily on international recruitment to maintain essential public services.
She acknowledged that overseas workers would continue to play an important role but insisted that the government needed to develop a stronger domestic workforce.
Her central argument was that if the NHS cannot function without constant immigration, the underlying recruitment and training model needs to change.
She said Britain should focus on developing an economy with higher wages and lower immigration, while recruiting overseas workers where genuinely necessary.
The Numbers Behind the NHS Immigration Debate
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Figures published by the House of Commons Library show that approximately 21 per cent of NHS staff in England reported a nationality other than British in June 2025.
The proportion was higher among particular professional groups:
- Around 36 per cent of doctors reported a non-British nationality.
- Around 30 per cent of nurses and health visitors reported a non-British nationality.
- London had the highest regional proportion of non-British NHS staff, at approximately 32 per cent.
These figures demonstrate the important contribution made by international workers.
However, they also highlight the scale of Britain’s reliance on overseas recruitment in certain healthcare professions.
The statistics measure nationality, not necessarily immigration status or country of birth. Many international NHS employees have lived in Britain for years.
Should Nursing Qualifications Be Changed?
Another controversial part of Badenoch’s interview concerned the requirement for nurses to hold university degrees.
She questioned whether a university degree should be compulsory for every nursing career pathway.
Badenoch suggested that Britain should consider alternative training routes that allow people to enter nursing without accumulating substantial student debt.
She compared the situation with changes to police recruitment, arguing that practical training and workplace experience could provide alternative routes into important public service professions.
She also suggested that student loan arrangements, particularly Plan 2 loans, deserved attention.
Her argument is that nursing should become a more attractive career for young British people.
NHS Workforce Shortages Remain a Serious Challenge
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The NHS has faced longstanding problems involving recruitment, retention and workforce planning.
Simply increasing the number of domestic training places will not automatically solve those problems.
Healthcare organisations must also consider salaries, working conditions, training opportunities and staff retention.
The Nuffield Trust has highlighted significant retention problems among doctors.
Its research estimated that only 56 per cent of doctors entering core training remained in NHS hospital and community services in England eight years later.
This suggests that improving recruitment is only part of the challenge.
Keeping experienced healthcare professionals in the NHS is equally important.
Health Organisations Warn Against Losing Overseas Staff
Badenoch’s comments come amid wider disagreements about immigration restrictions and their potential impact on healthcare.
Health organisations have warned that reducing access to overseas workers too quickly could create serious staffing difficulties.
The Royal College of General Practitioners has previously highlighted the NHS’s dependence on international medical graduates.
Meanwhile, the Royal College of Nursing has argued that overseas nurses make an essential contribution to patient care.
Critics of stricter recruitment policies warn that hospitals could struggle to fill vacancies if international workers leave or cannot be replaced quickly enough.
This presents a difficult question for policymakers: how can Britain increase domestic recruitment without creating additional shortages?
What Does Badenoch Want to Change?
The Conservative leader’s proposals point towards a different approach to NHS workforce planning.
Her priorities include:
- Increasing the number of British-trained doctors and nurses.
- Making nursing careers more financially attractive.
- Reviewing the requirement for university degrees in nursing.
- Improving access to training for domestic applicants.
- Reducing long-term dependence on overseas recruitment.
- Continuing to recruit international workers where necessary.
However, changing the training system would require detailed planning, funding and consultation with professional organisations.
Any alternative nursing pathway would also need to maintain the high standards required to protect patients.
A Political Battle Over Immigration and Healthcare
The comments have created another dividing line between the Conservatives, Labour and other political parties.
Badenoch argues that Britain must develop a stronger domestic workforce rather than relying on immigration to fill essential vacancies.
Labour and healthcare organisations have emphasised the importance of international workers while also supporting improvements to domestic training.
The disagreement is ultimately about how quickly Britain can become more self-sufficient without damaging the services millions of people depend on.
The Future of Britain’s NHS Workforce
Badenoch’s intervention has put an important question back at the centre of national politics.
Should Britain continue relying heavily on international recruitment, or should it invest more heavily in training its own healthcare professionals?
There is no simple answer.
The NHS needs experienced doctors and nurses today, but it also needs a sustainable workforce for the future.
Any successful strategy will have to address recruitment, pay, working conditions, training and retention together.
THE BIG QUESTIONS:
- Should the NHS rely less on overseas recruitment?
- Should Britain train more homegrown nurses and doctors?
- Should nursing qualifications offer alternative routes without compulsory university degrees?
- Would tougher immigration rules risk worsening NHS staffing shortages?
- Should nurses receive higher salaries to encourage more British applicants?
The debate is about more than immigration statistics. It concerns the future of the NHS, the opportunities available to young British workers and the ability of hospitals to provide safe, reliable care for everyone.