Before we dive into how NHS trusts across the country overcome skills shortage through sponsorship, it’s important to understand the problems facing the industry that has led to this situation.

● Shortage of professionals in the local job market

While the UK is home to a robust healthcare system, the demand for healthcare has increased significantly in recent years.

This has also increased the demand for qualified nurses, doctors, and allied healthcare professionals across the board. Unfortunately, the local labour market has been unable to meet the increasing demand for healthcare professionals.

Despite the systems in place to train healthcare professionals, the supply of locally trained workers has been inadequate in recent years.

Another factor contributing to the prevailing labour shortage is the increasing number of healthcare workers switching industries due to several factors, including burnout and low pay.

● Costs of hiring locally qualified professionals

Although low pay is one of the primary reasons for existing healthcare workers looking for jobs in other industries, NHS trusts incur significant costs to attract and retain nurses, doctors, and other healthcare workers.

For instance, according to nurses.co.uk, it costs almost £12,000 to replace a fully trained nurse locally. Comparatively, it only costs £6,371.41 to sponsor a nurse.

In recent years, the cost of hiring and retaining healthcare workers has steadily increased, putting significant financial pressure on NHS trusts across the country.

● Unfamiliarity with the sponsoring process

While sponsoring healthcare workers is a viable option to overcome labour shortages as well as reduce the costs of hiring and retaining staff, many NHS trust leaders are unfamiliar with the sponsoring process and the costs involved with sponsorship.

This has forced many to continue to hire locally despite the Government removing caps on the number of healthcare workers that can be sponsored under the Health and Care visa.