The UK government plans to prioritize British nationals for NHS (National Health Service) roles. Health Secretary Wes Streeting says the move is intended to put the system back on track after what he called the previous government's “catastrophic” handling of the NHS.
On 22 January 2026, Streeting introduced a new bill aimed at “saving” the NHS. Titled the Medical Training (Prioritisation) Bill, the proposal seeks to give preference to medical degrees obtained in the United Kingdom. The legislation targets specialist training posts, which allow doctors to train in a specific field within the NHS.
According to the government, competition between locally trained and overseas-trained doctors has intensified since 2020. Streeting argues that the bill would fix a “broken” system: UK graduates, he says, should not have to compete with foreign graduates after completing their medical education in Britain. More broadly, he believes international talent should not be recruited on such a large scale when the country already has a strong domestic pool of qualified candidates. The announcement has raised concerns among expatriates, particularly Indian doctors, who make up the largest group of NHS physicians trained abroad (12,820 in June 2025). However, while the bill prioritizes British nationals, Streeting insists the UK will remain open to international talent, provided these doctors have worked within the NHS for a “significant period of time.” It remains unclear how that period will be defined.
The British Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (BAPIO) and the British Medical Association have both expressed their unease. They are calling on the government to clarify what the bill would mean for doctors trained overseas but who already have “significant” NHS experience, and what kind of treatment they can expect under the new rules.
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