Jeremy Hunt is to pledge that the NHS in England will reduce its reliance on foreign-trained medics after Britain leaves the European Union.
30,472 doctors come from the EU and other countries in the European Economic Area, while 71,139 were trained elsewhere in the world outside the UK, according to data from the General Medical Council records. Remain campaigners warned in the run-up to the referendum that the NHS, which relies heavily on foreign staff, would be hit if EU workers could no longer travel freely to work in the UK.
The health secretary will use his speech to the Conservative party conference on Tuesday to set out his plans. He will promise up to 1,500 extra training places a year. And in an attempt to avoid an exodus of people trained in the UK, trainee doctors will have to work in the NHS for four years before they can accept overseas postings.
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