The Tories are now extending doctors' visas, because it turns out we need immigrants after all

Thousands of foreign members of staff in the NHS are to have their visas extended for another 12 months in order to help the health service fight coronavirus.

The unprecedented measures will allow around 2,800 members of staff to carry on working in this country, beyond the original deadline date of 1 October.

This will be introduced free of charge, with Home Secretary Priti Patel adding that it was a 'sign of gratitude' for all their hard work.

Doctors, nurses and paramedics from all over the world are playing a leading role in the NHS’s efforts to tackle coronavirus and save lives. We owe them a great deal of gratitude for all that they do. I don’t want them distracted by the visa process. That is why I have automatically extended their visas – free of charge – for a further year.

This generous act from the home office is obviously welcome but comes just a few months after Brexit, where many EU migrants and foreign workers in the NHS were largely ignored. Since the EU referendum result in June 2016, 10,000 workers wound up leaving the NHS.

With this in mind, people have been quick to remind everyone that we are quite reliant on foreign workers in this country after all. Funny that.

Others think that they should be allowed to stay in the UK indefinitely.

Perhaps it shouldn't just be NHS workers either?

Coronavirus has already claimed more than 1,789 lives in the UK after 25,150 tested positive. It should be noted that 143,186 people have been tested for the disease to date.