It is not often I am in both camps, but this is where I find myself.
I think it prudent to fill vacancies in the NHS in the most prudent fashion in the short term, and that includes the employment of foreign medical staff where necessary.
In the long term, there should be value placed upon vocational training to encourage the next generation of home grown medical professionals, to reduce reliance on imported labour, note the use of reduction, not eradication, as I strongly believe there to be many merits in diversity in all walks of life, and the enrichment it brings.
However back to the thread title, NHS surcharge, any foreign national irrespective of their employer or employment status, or indeed any ex pat UK national should be required to pay this nominal charge, and it should be looked upon as an insurance payment, in the same manner as a National Insurance contribution is levied upon other UK taxpayers.
I have been in receipt of superlative care from the NHS in the past, and I am in awe of what is achieved by the tireless work of the staff employed in this fantastic organisation, but to say that certain sections of the population who are aliens as far as nationality is concerned should be exempted from paying simply because of who their employer happens to be, is patently wrong, and unfair to other individuals who have chosen to live and work in the UK, who are not exempted.
The NHS as an organisation has evolved from the vision of Aneurin Bevan, of a reactive service to treat ill people, into one where proactive care is more prevalent and people's expectations of treatment they might receive is much higher.
This of course puts an ever growing financial strain on what is effectively a publicly funded enterprise.
So in my view this is not an unfair charge, unless it is levied differently upon some immigrant workers based solely upon their employer, and as such should not be abolished.
Brian
