Home Office will extends NHS medics' work visas for a year so they can 'focus on fighting coronavirus'

Thousands of NHS doctors, nurses and paramedics are to have their visas extended so they can "focus on fighting coronavirus", the Government has announced.

The extension will apply to around 2,800 medics with UK work visas due to expire before October 1, the Home Office said in a statement on Tuesday.

They will be renewed automatically for a year free of charge so they can remain working in the country, the Home Office said.

The changes will also apply to their family members.

Announcing the decision, Home Secretary Priti Patel said: "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."

"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," she added.

"We owe them a great deal of gratitude for all that they do."

Amid a spiralling rise in Covid-19 case numbers and a mounting death toll from the pandemic, the Home Office said it had also lifted the restriction on the amount of hours student nurses and doctors can work in the NHS.

Deadlines for registered overseas nurses to pass skills tests will also be extended so they have more time to take exams while working on the front line.

More than 22,000 people throughout the UK are now confirmed to have contracted Covid-19, according to the latest figures released by the Department of Health.

The death toll currently stands at 1,408.