• The prime minister is reportedly to announce that doctors and visas will be excluded from the tier 2 visa cap.
• The cap - introduced by Theresa May when she was home secretary - sets a limit for all non-EU skilled workers at 20,700 people a year.
• The move would allow the NHS to recruit more staff from outside the European Economic Area, following serious workforce pressure. 

Responding to reports that doctors and nurses will be excluded from the government’s tier 2 visa cap, NHS Providers head of analysis, Phillippa Hentsch said:

"This is going to be a huge relief for trusts that have been struggling to fill their doctor and nursing vacancies.

"Recruitment problems caused by the cap have resulted in rota gaps, often filled by paying premium locum rates. That is not good for continuity of care for patients, or for trusts’ finances.

The lifting of the cap for doctors and nurses will ease the immediate problems, and that is welcome, but it is just a first step in addressing the wider workforce challenges we face

tweet this

"The lifting of the cap for doctors and nurses will ease the immediate problems, and that is welcome, but it is just a first step in addressing the wider workforce challenges we face.

 "It is vital too that training here is expanded to meet the longer term workforce needs in health and social care. The draft workforce strategy, published last autumn by Health Education England, was a sensible and constructive start to that process, but the plans will take time to deliver, so the NHS needs to be supported to recruit from overseas for the foreseeable future."