London NHS Trust has apologised after a member of staff said that striking foreign doctors on sponsored visas would be reported to Border Force.
In a WhatsApp message, an employee at Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust said that any doctor with a visa sponsored by the trust would be reported if they join next week’s junior doctors strike.
About 60,000 members of the British Medical Association (BMA) will strike across England for 96 hours from next Tuesday in a bitter dispute over pay.
The message read: “Any doctor who has a visa sponsored by the trust and decides to go on strike, the Trust will report their absence to the Border Force and this could potentially make it problematic when renewing their visa.
“Please note that this is not a consultant decision but a trust decision and is in keeping with most (if not all) other trusts in London.”
A spokesman for Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust told the Standard that the message had been sent in error “on a local WhatsApp group” and did not reflect the trust’s policy.
The sender of the message was not identified by the screengrab.
Dr Latifa Patel, from the BMA, told the BBC that the organisation was “deeply concerned by the impact of this communication, which will unnecessarily instil fear and doubt in the minds of junior doctors with visas over their legal right to take strike action”.
She added: “We will not take any form of industrial action that will impact the legal status of a doctor’s visa — either future or present.
“To employers — we remind you of your responsibility to act professionally. We have zero tolerance for bullying and harassment.”
A spokesperson for the trust said: “This is absolutely not our trust policy. We are, and always have been, fully supportive of everyone’s right to strike without judgement, fear or consequence.
“This message was sent in a local WhatsApp group by an individual who made a mistake. It has been corrected internally at the most senior level and we have assured our all teams, including our international colleagues, that this is not our position.
“Understandably, it has been distressing for some colleagues and we are deeply sorry that this has impacted them at a time when we are all pulling together to do our very best for our patients.”
This message was reportedly sent by a consultant in charge of staff rotas for the trust.
Senior doctors criticised the message, with one writing that international medics were “not at risk” of visa issues if they went on strike.
Guidance on the BMA’s website says that “unpaid leave taken to participate in legally organised industrial action is exempt from the rule that your sponsorship will be terminated if you are absent from work unpaid for 28 days or longer in a calendar year”.
The union is seeking a pay rise of 26 per cent for junior doctors to restore a real-terms fall in income since 2008. A Foundation Year 1 doctor earns about £29,000 per year, rising to £34,000 a year later.
NHS trusts across the country began to notify patients on Monday of delays to treatment as a result of next week’s industrial action. The last junior doctors strike, held over three days in March, led to the cancellation or postponement of 175,000 procedures and appointments.
