Home Office accused of incompetence with qualified asylum seekers Migrants are left idle as COVID-19 spreads LONDON: The UK’s National Health Service (NHS) is struggling to treat people or find enough staff amid a resurgence of COVID-19, yet many foreign medics across the country have been left unable to help due to immigration rules. A number of international health care workers are waiting for biometric residence permits (BRPs) from the UK Home Office, with some having waited months to conclude a process that should take seven to 10 days. Delays in granting asylum to other qualified professionals, meanwhile, has seen medical practitioners waiting for over a year to be given permission to work — which normally happens after 12 months for key workers, including all medics. “In normal times it’s terribly frustrating for qualified health professionals who are stuck in the asylum system for months on end, banned from working and unable to use their valuable skills to support the NHS,” Enver Solomon, CEO of the Refugee Council, told The Independent newspaper. “During a global pandemic, it’s a tragedy.” Mo’men, a Jordanian surgeon with over a decade of experience, is still waiting for approval to work despite being granted a UK visa on Oct. 7 last year. He had been told to expect to collect his BRP two weeks after the visa was granted. “I could be working on the front line right now, but I’ve spent more than two months doing nothing,” he said. “It’s been 10 weeks; I didn’t expect it to take this long,” the 35-year-old added. “I’ve had no reply from the Home Office about reasons for the delay.” Walid, a Palestinian nurse who grew up in Lebanon, claimed asylum in the UK in October 2019 but is still waiting for it to be granted. He too applied to help the NHS deal with COVID-19 late last year, and has been offered a position, but has heard nothing from the Home Office despite being eligible to work. “This is really frustrating. I worked in an intensive care unit for six years. I have a lot of experience. I can work right now. I am ready,” he said. “I’ve been learning medical English for six months and I’ve passed everything. It feels like a waste. I’m qualified. I feel like I’m wasting my life,” he added. “The NHS needs more people, but the Home Office doesn’t care. They just see us as refugees and asylum seekers.” A Syrian doctor who did not wish to be identified, and worked on wards in the city of Aleppo during the war in his country, has also failed to receive a definitive response from the Home Office despite claiming asylum in July 2020. “I spent a lot of time helping doctors in surgical emergencies because there was a lot of pressure on them dealing with the effects of the war. After years of war, we were used to seeing this kind of thing,” he said. “I know I could be helping the UK right now to deal with this crisis. But I’m stuck and can’t do anything.” The situation in the NHS has become so dire, with rising cases and fatalities, that hospital leaders have asked staff to work extra shifts despite many reporting fatigue, stress and anxiety at the workload and conditions they already face. Others have asked retired practitioners to return to work and assist. Dr. Dolin Bhagawati, a senior figure at Doctors’ Association UK and an experienced neurosurgeon, called on the state to offer indefinite leave to remain in the country for all international NHS workers, carers and dependents. “The UK is crying out for all the trained staff we have available, even calling up retired NHS workers and students,” he said. “By not doing all it can to allow foreign doctors with valid visas to work as soon as possible, the Home Office is failing to do its part in a nationwide effort to fight this virus.” Liberal Democrat politician Christine Jardine said: “Home Office intransigence and incompetence is now undermining the fantastic work being done by so many people under such stressful circumstances in our NHS and care sectors. “It’s bad enough that they continue to ignore pleas to offer those foreign nationals who are putting their lives at risk in the NHS indefinite leave to remain in recognition of their efforts, but the Home Office is now adding to the pressure on health staff with this latest failure.”