Many are saying the ‘hostile environment’ policy is damaging the NHS. The current visa rules place a cap on how many non-EU workers can come to the UK, and this ceiling has been hit for six months in a row, preventing more overseas doctors from coming. Many believe the visa rules aren’t working in the best interests of NHS patients, and think that ministers ought to do more to ensure hospitals get adequate numbers of staff. Labour’s shadow health secretary said that we are turning away trained doctors who want to come and work in the UK while the NHS has a workforce crisis with 100,000 posts unfilled. Vacancy rates for nurses and doctors are rising every year. Health trust bosses raised concerns over the visa scheme recently when it emerged that 100 Indian doctors had been denied visas to work in the UK. See also the previous article.